Kotomi's Happy Ever After
by Matthew Turner
Summary: I'm a big fan of Magnus Prime's work, but there were areas that Magnus skips over a bit too much. This is my attempt to remedy that. It's a bit on the sweet side I haven't done any writing like this in 25 years. Please comment and review. Unless i'm suddenly struck with inspiration it is finished... probably...
1. Chapter 1

**Kotomi's happy ever after**

The girls all fussed around Kotomi as she repeated her thanks for her most precious of gifts (apart from her teddy bear of course.) She held the slightly battered violin case close to her chest, apparently not willing to let it go just yet. Content to leave them to have some "girl time" I watched her smiling face, almost glowing with joy.

'Wish I could give her everything her hart desires…. But… what can I really offer her?'

'I need to be the man she deserves, not the under qualified out of work bum I'm going to end up if I don't change course. But do I still have the time to change that future?'

"Tomoya-kun?"

…

"Tomoya-kun?"

Suddenly pulled from my reverie I realized I was being spoken to.

"Hmm… Sorry Kotomi-chan, did you need something?"

"You looked like you were worrying about something."

'When did she get so adept at reading emotions? Huh… maybe she's come further than I thought.'

"Oh, I'm sorry angel, I was just lost in thought."

"What were you thinking about?"

"How much I love you." She blushed pink looking down and smiling coyly. She looked dangerously adorable. "That and our future." At the mention of a future together her blush deepened but her smile grew in equal measure as she looked me in the eye.

"Thankyou… I love you too." She was just too damn cute, one of these days her cuteness will get me in to trouble, I suspect that if she asked anything of me right now, I'd be powerless to resist her will. Not that she's ever asked for anything other than to be with me.

Just thinking that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and I was drawn closer to her, her soft delicate lips almost magnetic. I kissed her deeply wanting her to feel the love I had for her, needing her to know how much she meant to me.

"Oi! Get a room you two… Geeze you've got guests you know." Just like Kyou to burst our bubble.

The world around us snapped back into focus, aside from a furiously blushing Kotomi, there were three faces looking our way, each displaying varying levels of embarrassment, surprisingly Kyou was blushing too, not as much as Fujibayashi or Furukawa but still, I'd never seen her blush before.

"Sorry, we err got a little umm, distracted,"

"We can see that." Kyou retorted with a lopsided smile.

I held Kotomi close a moment longer so I could speak to her without being overheard.

"Kotomi-chan, I need to talk to you about something later. I may need your help with something."

Smiling brightly Kotomi nodded energetically "Of course Tomoya-kun, I would love to help you."

"You don't even know what I want you to do yet." I smiled wryly, once again warmed by the utter faith she had in me.

"Alright Casanova give it a rest will you." Kyou's teasing, heckling voice, stopped the conversation before it could go any further. Probable best to leave it for later anyway.

The rest of the party went without further incident, aside from some well-meaning teasing from Kyou, it kept a rather attractive blush on Kotomi's cheeks, so I wasn't going to complain too much. Still I did my best to keep Kyou from going too far, those efforts unfortunately piqued Kyou's interest and she redirected her teasing to focus on how protective of Kotomi I' become. Nothing new there I guess. Better me than Kotomi anyway.

After everyone had left Kotomi and I snuggled in front of the TV finally alone, the party was fun, but I always looked forward to some _us_ time.

"Kotomi-Chan, do you know if it is possible to go back any retake exams from previous years? You know improve the grade I got."

"I believe so, but you need a senior teacher to make the request to the head teacher. Was this what you were talking about earlier this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking that I have wasted the last two years, and to be honest I'm worried that I'll never be able to turn things around and provide the kind of life you deserve. I've been so stupid, and I feel like I've thrown away my future, our future."

"Tomoya-kun, you are not stupid." Kotomi scowled at me, or at least her approximation of a scowl, she'd tried this before, apparently this was intended to reprimand me for calling myself stupid. The problem is Kotomi just can't pull off a scowl, I'm honestly not entirely sure she's capable of actually being angry, so the resulting facial expression is just adorable.

"Kotomi I know that I'm not really stupid, you're drummed that much into my head at least," The missing -chan earned me a pout, but we've had this discussion a few times already. "We've talked about feeling like something doesn't mean you _are_ something, right?" A nod, I can tell she isn't really satisfied with this explanation but she's not pursuing it this time. "I'm just a bit frustrated at myself… the old me anyway. Where was I? Oh, right grades. I think I know a teacher that my help me get to resit my exams, but… and this is where you come in, I'm going to need to learn everything that I've missed over the last two and a half years. And I need to do it in less than one year… So, do you think you'd be able to help me study?" Kotomi beamed at me with stars in her eyes. She clapped excitedly.

"Oh, Tomoya-kun, I would love to help you study."

'What have I let myself in for?' I was under no illusions that it would be easy, it was in truth going to be a near impossible task. But I have to try.

"But Tomoya-kun I wanted to help you." Kotomi pouted at me like I had taken away her favourite toy. It was a little embarrassing to be having this conversation outside the teacher's office, with Kotomi clamped to my arm, in the middle of lunch break no less with everyone who passed by giving me amused glances or stifling giggles.

"I know you do, and I'm very grateful for all you support. But this is something I must do for myself. I need to be able to stand up for myself, or he'll never believe that I have changed, and truly ready to turn my life around."

"Okay… but I will wait here for you." She was still pouting but she was at least releasing her grip on my arm.

"Thank you Angel, it means a lot to me that you're here to support me, it really does… Okay?" I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, replacing her pout with a bashful smile.

"Okay."

'Well here goes nothing.'

Behind his bushy moustache Koumura-sensei's expression was unreadable.

"Hmmmm… So, you wish to rectify your past mistakes?"

"Yes, Sensei I do." The unusually formal response earned me a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm…" Yep his slow plodding speech was still infuriating. "So then, what has inspired you to turn thing around?"

"More of a 'Who' really Sensei." There goes that eyebrow again.

"Ahh, a girl is it? And who might she be?"

"Ichinose Kotomi, Sensei." Both eyebrows this time.

"Now there is an unexpected name. How did you come to meet her?"

"We actually used to play together as kids, but we lost track of each other when her parents… passed away. But I bumped into her in the library a while ago."

"Yes, a quite a troubled life she's had. I had heard that she has begun to attend classes and socialise with the other students. Do I take it that you were the catalyst for this change?" I couldn't help but blush at that.

"Well umm… I simply introduced her to a few of my friends, I didn't really do much."

"You do yourself a disservice young Tomoya, you may have saved that young lady from a very lonely future." Yup, still blushing. "Hmm… Very well, I shall speak to the head about challenging your exam results."

"Really!? Thank you very much Sensei!"

"It may not be easy to convince him of your change of heart, but I believe your home room teacher will also sponsor your request."

"Really? He will?"

"Indeed, he has already spoken of your new found diligence."

"T-Thank you Sensei, I won't let you down."

"It's not me you need to worry about letting down."

"Huh? You mean Kotomi?"

"There's her as well but most of all… don't let yourself down." I was floored, totally struck dumb, the most I could manage was a brief bow.

The instant I stepped out of the office Kotomi was right there in front of me, wringing her hands worriedly.

"Tomoya-kun, you were in there for so long… I began to worry." I pull her into my arms and give her a reassuring squeeze. Kotomi snuggled her head in to my chest and sighed contentedly. A moment later remembering where she was and why she was there. "Oh, Tomoya-kun, will he help you?"

"Yes, Angel, he will. I can have my second chance."


	2. Chapter 2 New beginnings

**Chapter 2: New beginnings**

Kotomi and I sat crossed legged on the floor of her living room surrounded by text books, Kotomi had insisted that this was the most efficient way to study, I wasn't so convinced myself but whatever makes her comfortable. To be honest sitting on the floor wasn't issue foremost in my mind right now, rather it was a matter of… proximity. There are few things that really get Kotomi excited, one is studying obviously, no problem there, the second however was more of a problem, that thing being… well… me.

The result of the combining of both of those things was that Kotomi was rather… how should I put it? Enthusiastic? That being the case she was rather close to me. Not something I'd normally complain about, her affection for me frequently lead to the embarrassment of both myself and more often than not, those around us. In this case however it was more an issue of it making it a little difficult to concentrate on studying.

"Umm, Kotomi-chan, do you think you could scoot over a little? You're a little close."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

'Yeah, that's what you said the last five times too.'

Kotomi dutifully shuffled a little further away, unfortunately this never seemed to last too long. The usual pattern we seem to have settled into went something along the lines of: I answer a question correctly, Kotomi gets excited and shuffles a little closer, bit by bit she ends up squished up right next to me, I ask her to give me a little more room, she moves away, repeat.

A month of hard study had passed since my conversation with in the teachers office, the old man had been able to secure permission for me to resit my previous exams. What was most surprising was that apparently the deciding factor was in fact a remarkably enthusiastic report on my recent class room conduct from my home room teacher. He had greeted me the following morning with a warm smile and a "Good for you." The rest of the class was almost as surprised as I was.

Sunohara's response was the most troubling, not surprising but still, he had walked in on Kotomi and I studying in the library, he was already a bit annoyed that I wasn't spending much time with him since Kotomi and I had started dating, but seeing me trying to better myself was the last straw. He hadn't so much as spoken to me in the last two weeks. I guess he suddenly found himself in the position of being the only delinquent in the school and just felt isolated. Dealing with him would have to wait until after my exams, I had been doing little other than, study, eat and sleep lately so I couldn't spare the time to deal with him right now.

My first round of exams was upon me in what felt like no time at all. Saturday afternoon came around and I was standing outside the class room where I was due to take my exam, nervously chewing on my thumb nail, I would have been pacing back and forth but Kotomi had attached herself to my arm and wasn't showing any sign of letting go any time soon. Koumura-sensei shuffled out of the room.

"Very well Tomoya-san, we are ready for you. I'm afraid you'll have to leave Kotomi-san here though." He had rather mischievous glint in his eye as he added the last comment. For a moment I didn't think she was going to let go of me, her grip did release eventually only for her to wrap her arm around me and assume her usual position snuggled into my chest. Sensei could barely contain his mirth at this development, his shoulders trembling slightly as he tried to surpass his laughter.

"Kotomi-chan, I need to go in now." All I got for my trouble was a squeeze. "Kotomi-chan?" Kotomi finally released her grip, and looked up at me with a weak smile

"I believe in you Tomoya-kun." For a second there I was expecting her to grab hold of me again, but she did step back in the end.

"Well, there's no doubt about how she feels about you, is there?" Koumura said with a chuckle as he ushered me in to the room.

"Ah, umm, yeah…" Now that was seriously embarrassing. I was glad we had decided not to tell the rest of the Theatre club when I was resitting my exams, or I suspect I would have ended up with an entire cheer squad waiting with me.

As it turns out I had retained more of the first years classes than I had expected and study for them had gone well enough for us to move the exam date forward a little, we took a chance on doing this as it would give me more time to study for the second year exams, and I was far from confident that I would have it so easy with those exams.

I sat myself down at the desk as a large stack of paperwork was flopped down in front of me.

'Well… this is going to take a while.' Koumura checked the clock and nodded, giving me the signal to begin. What followed was several hours of gruelling study. More than once when I looked over at my teacher is had to wonder if he was still awake.

"Tomoya-san, put your pen down, please." Sensei collected the exam paper from me and glanced at the answer sheet, nodding in satisfaction.

"When will I know how I did?" I couldn't possible have done worse than the last time I took these exams, but I was still really nervous, especially after we had moved the exam up.

"I should have the result to you by the end of next week."

"Next week!? How come?"

"I am old." I waited for him to continue but apparently that was as far as the explanation went.

"Thank you, sensei." He simply smiled and nodded, at least I think he smiled, it was hard to tell with that moustache. The instant I set foot in the door way, I found a Kotomi clamped around me, much to Koumura-sensei's amusement.

"Um, Kotomi-chan, do you think I could get out of the room first?" She didn't let go be she did allow me to move at least.

"I got nervous… how was the exam?"

"Thank you, Angel, I appreciate that. The exam wasn't too bad. I got a little stuck a couple of times, but I managed to answer all the questions. We'll just have to wait and see how I did."

"I believe in you Tomoya-kun." That was starting to turn into a catchphrase for her at this point. "When will you know?"

"Next week. Would you like to go for a walk in the park? Maybe stop by the book store after? It would be nice to get out for a while before getting back to studying." Kotomi looked up at me smiling enthusiastically.

"That would be wonderful, Tomoya-kun."

"You haven't been to the book store much, lately have you?"

"No we have been busy with important things." Kotomi adjusted her grip on me so she was now wrapped around my arm, and we set off for our first date since starting to study for my exams. Going to a book store may not seem like a particularly romantic date spot but, it makes her happy so, who cares. As we wandered around the book store Kotomi kept taking sidelong glances toward a section to the far side of the store.

"Did you want to look over there Kotomi-chan?" Kotomi just blushed and moved away to a different shelf.

'That's odd. What's down there that would cause that reaction?' I took a closer look at the shelf she had been glancing at, and my eyes darn near popped out of my head. 'Wedding planning!? She couldn't seriously… could she? No, no she wouldn't… would she?' Once again, I caught Kotomi looking at the same shelf, she blushed bright red when she realised that I had seen her looking. 'sigh… yep she would.' I was at a loss for what to say or think. I mean I'd considered it. I had been thinking of a future together with Kotomi so it seemed obvious that we would marry, eventually. Maybe her time line was shorter than I had thought. 'Oh well, here goes.'

"Kotomi-chan, did you want to go and look at… those… books, over there?" I was blushing almost as much as she was now. Kotomi's eye flitted between me and the bookshelf in question.

"C-c-c-can I?"

"W-well, umm, y-yeah if you want to." Apparently, a stutter can be contagious, who knew? Kotomi took a couple of tentative steps toward the shelf, looking at me more than the shelf, seemingly looking for confirmation, so I took her hand and lead her over to the shelf. She browsed through a bunch of different books, smiling broadly, she was as red as a tomato, but smiling.

'I may need to move up my plans a bit.'

Kotomi was glancing at me as she reached for one of the magazines, it was a little cute that she seemed to be asking permission to buy a magazine but guess I can understand where she's coming from. So, I just smiled at her and nodded. Permission given Kotomi took the magazine from the shelf and clutched it tightly to her chest, was she trying to hide it from everyone else in the shop? Or was it just that precious to her? Could be a bit of both really.

'Sigh, Yep I'm definitely going to have to speed up my plans.' Kotomi selected another book about wedding planning and moved on to her more usual physics books. After selecting a few other books, we headed for the till to pay. As the lady at the checkout scanned Kotomi's selections she spotted the wedding book and magazine.

"Well, Kotomi-chan, someone's a lucky girl." She grinned at me as she commented on the books.

'Hello, and welcome to tomatoes are us, I'm the proprietor and Kotomi here is my lovely assistant.' I felt like my face was about to catch fire, Kotomi's face was much the same colour as I expect my own to be. The cashier just chuckled to herself ass she passed the bag to Kotomi. I was beginning to wonder if embarrassment could genuinely be fatal, or did it just feel like it? If this carries on, we'll soon find out for sure.

Kotomi was unusually quiet on our way back to her house.

"You Okay, Kotomi-chan? You're very quiet today." It's not like she's the most talkative person I the world but we're not usually short of things to talk about.

"Tomoya-kun, let's get married!" She immediately clamped her hand over her mouth as if she hadn't intended to say it. I froze on the spot, not sure what to say. I had sort of seen it coming, and it's not like I don't want to, but this was a bit sudden.

"K-Kotomi-chan, isn't it a little soon for that? We've only been going out or a little while, and we're still in school." She shook her head slightly, making her red hair ornaments wobble about.

"I have loved you since… since… for a long time." She was looking down at her feet, but I could still see that her eyes were getting a little teary. "D-do you n-not want to…"

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest squeezing her tight.

"I'm so sorry Kotomi-chan, I didn't mean for you to think that. I guess you have been waiting for quite a long time, haven't you?" I felt her head move up and down as she kept it pressed into my chest. "Are you sure?" Another nod. "Okay, let's get married." Kotomi's head popped up faster than seemed comfortable.

"Really? You mean it? We can?" Kotomi's red rimmed eyes looked up at me alight with hope and excitement.

"Yeah, It's a little earlier than I'd expected, but I'd love to marry you." Kotomi squeezed me tightly, trembling slightly as tears of joy flowed down her face. "Sorry I made you wait so long." We got more than a few dubious looks as we stood in the middle of the high street hugging each other. "We'll have to wait until after we graduate mind you, is that okay?" She nodded emphatically.

"Yes, I can wait a little longer."

'Sigh, Kyou is going to have a field day with this.'

That evening as I sat in my customary position in Kotomi's front room, I found I hard to focus on my studies, I just couldn't keep the grin off my face. Kotomi was sitting next to me going through her wedding books, she would occasionally gasp and rapidly write something down in her note book, I tried to read what she was writing down but was all in some sort of short hand I didn't have a hope of understanding. She would also keep looking over at me smiling with a slight blush, looking away immediately when she spotted that I'd caught her looking. Study was not going to come easy tonight.

Sunday passed in much the same way, Kotomi had calmed down a bit but she was still pouring over her books and surfing the internet for ideas. I suspect it is going to feel like a long, long road to graduation. I just hope things can settle back down a bit so I can get some decent study in, my next exams weren't for two months, but I still had to learn most of last years syllabus in that time. All the while trying to keep up with this year too.

Monday morning rolled around and Kotomi and I were walking to school together, this had become a habit of ours, I would head to Kotomi's house in the morning in we would head to school together. It meant I had to get up a little earlier, but it's worth it to be able to spend a little more time with my Kotomi. Thinking about it, just a few months ago, I couldn't even get my head off the pillow early enough to get to school on time, never mind early enough to walk a girl to school and meet up with my friends in the club room.

Every time I think about the changes in my life, the more grateful I am that I happened to wonder into the library that day.

'When did I end up so sentimental?'

"Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-kun!" It's the twins, fujibayashi and Kotomi have become pretty close lately. It's hard to believe that one of them would hide behind me if someone so much as coughed loudly, and the other would go bright red if I so much as smile in her direction.

"Good morning, Ryou-chan, Good morning Kyou-chan."

"Good morning, Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-kun."

"Morning Fujibayashi, Kyou."

"Why am I the afterthought?" Kyou huffed.

"Your sister was the one how actually greeted me, so it seemed only fair." Kyou just gave me a slightly odd look. As Furukawa joined our little group.

"What's with you two this morning? Kotomi's even more clingy than usual." She's not wrong, normally Kotomi would be doing the rounds hugging people by now.

"I don't know what you mean, Good morning Furukawa."

"Good morning Okazaki-kun, good morning Kotomi-chan."

"Good morning, Negisa-chan." Kotomi smiled as she greeted her friend, but otherwise remained attached to my arm. Kyou gave me another suspicious glance but didn't say anything else. I was definitely going to get it the instant she got me alone.

We continued on towards school, and into the Theatre club room.

"So, what did you two get up to this weekend?" Kyou was on the scent of some juicy gossip.

"Oh, nothing special, we went for a walk in the park, and then to the book store."

"Then why did Kotomi blush when you mentioned the book store? And why is she glued to your arm?" Kotomi squeaked and hid behind me blushing bright red. The strength of Kotomi's reaction surprised all three girls.

"Book store isn't code for something is it?!" Kyou asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

"NO, IT ISN'T! We wouldn't do anything like that until…"

'Crap! There's no way she'll let that one pass.'

"Until what?" She'd smelled blood now, there's no getting her off the subject anymore.

'Can I play for time until we need to go to class? Half an hour, crap… that's not going to work.' I looked back to my fiancée for confirmation, a slight nod. 'Fiancée huh. I like the sound of that.'

"What? What are you grinning about?"

"Sigh… We got engaged. We're getting married after we graduate."

"Married!" All three shout at once, causing Kotomi to hide behind me a little more. I had expected them to be surprised, but what I hadn't expected was the brief flash of sadness in the eyes of all three girls.

"C-Congratulations." Furukawa was the first to break the silence. It seemed to snap the twins back to the room.

"Y-yes c-c-congratulations you two." Fujibayashi displayed further evidence of how contagious stuttering can be.

"Yeah… Congratulations." Kyou seemed to be in a bit of a daze. Kotomi was apparently oblivious to how strange the reaction was. She had emerged from behind me and headed over to hug Furukawa and Fujibayashi, Kyou was still staring at me in a daze.

"Kyou? You okay there?" Kyou blinked a few times, as if she had just realised where she was.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah… congratulations." She still didn't quite sound right, but I didn't think there was a good idea to press the issue. She blinked a couple more times and headed over to join the other three as the hugged and chatted excitedly.

'Well it's one hell of a way to start a day. Sunohara is going to freak when he hears this.' I didn't have to deal with that today though thankfully, he hadn't turned up by the time I headed off to the club room for lunch, and he was already asleep on his desk by the time I returned. At lunch the girls had apparently recovered from the shock and were excitedly talking about dresses and stuff. Apart from Kyou, who was grilling me for details of the proposal, why didn't she have a ring yet? Etc. I kept my answers as vague as I could, some things are best kept private. Although it did remind me that I need to do something about a ring.

When I did get around to talking to Sunohara, he had already heard about it on the grape vine. I'll never understand how gossip can spread so fast. He wasn't pleased, honestly his reaction reminded me of the girls when we told them. I decided that it was probably best left alone for now, and I just added it to the ever-growing list of stuff to deal with after I had got through my next round of resits.

The following Saturday afternoon Koumura-sensei met me outside my class room as I was heading to meet Kotomi.

"Ah, young Tomoya-san," a long pause… was he finished? Or has he fallen asleep?

"Yes Sensei?"

"I expect you would like to hear your exam results."

"Honestly I'm not sure I do at this point." Koumura smiled warmly at me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You should have more confidence in yourself, you have been doing very well in your classes lately." We were beginning to get a great many curious stares as what felt like the entire school filed past us on the way to clubs or home.

"Umm, well… err, Kotomi has been a big help with that kind of thing."

"Hmmm… So, I hear, you two have become the subject of a great deal of discussion in the office this last week."

'Ah, does that mean it's made it as far as him already?'

"Ah, yes, that, well umm, I… err, we are, yes, very happy together." Wow this is embarrassing.

"Indeed… you seem to have been a very positive influence on each other."

"I don't know how much I have influenced her but…. Yeah, she's opened my eyes to a lot of mistakes I've made over the last two and a half years. B-but a-anyway you said you had my results?"

"Hmmm…" Wow this guy talks slowly. "Yes, indeed I do. You have done very well for yourself…" Yes and. "You have managed a B+ average." I stood there stunned, at a loss for words. "And your recent results in this year's exams put you in the top 100 students in the school."

"What? Huh… Really?!" No way, he's got to be winding me up.

"Tomoya-kun? Is everything okay?" Kotomi had appeared while I was stood catatonic trying to assimilate the information Koumura-sensei had just dropped on me.

"Hmm… Kotomi-chan? What are you doing here?"

"You were late, so I got worried and came to find you."

"I am sorry young lady, I'm afraid I had detained Tomoya-san, so I could discuss his exam results."

"Oh! Yes of course, I am sorry for intruding." Kotomi had apparently not realised that Koumura-sensei was even there until he spoke to her directly.

"Not at all young Kotomi-san…" Yet another long pause, Kotomi looked over to me unsure of how to react. "I believe congratulations are in order."

'Yep he's heard, does the whole school know?'

"Oh! Yes, thank you sensei." Kotomi was doing an excellent tomato impression at this point.

"You are most welcome my dear. I will leave it to your fiancé to share the good news then." It looked like most of Kotomi's blood had now collected in her face, as Koumura-sensei bowed and shuffled off. It was the first time I had been referred to as Kotomi's fiancé, and I was left feeling like a couple of dozen butterflies were having a party in my stomach.

Kotomi took a few deep breaths, and her face started to return to normal, more or less anyway.

"H-How did you do in your exams, Tomoya-kun?"

"He said I got a B+ average." I was still in a bit of a daze. But Kotomi clapped excitedly and threw her arms around me, assuming her default position, snuggled into my chest. "I am very proud of you, see I told you that you could do it."

"You knew he could do what?" at some point the other three girls had come looking for us. I hadn't told anyone that I had been trying to improve my exam scores, so it's no surprise that they were a little confused.

"Sigh… I re-sat my first-year exams last weekend."

"Oh, really? What brought that on?" Kyou was as surprised as the other two but had managed to recover the use of her mouth.

"Do you really need to ask?" I glanced down at Kotomi who had yet to move from her position against my chest.

"I guess not." There was a brief flash of sadness in her eye just like when we announced our engagement, but she recovered quickly. "How did it go?"

"I got a B+ average." Stunned silence. "Koumura said I was in the top 100 for this year's exams too."

Kotomi's head popped up at this new piece of information.

"That is excellent news Tomoya-kun." She beamed up at me, still pressed into my chest but looking up with her chin against my sternum, she looked so cute I wished I could take a picture.

"Hey! We're still here you know! Anyway, congratulations Tomoya, I'm actually impressed." Kyou couldn't resist heckling us whenever we got a little too lovey-dovey.

"Yes, Congratulations Okazaki-kun." Fujibayashi smiled and then looked at Kotomi. "You're a very luck girl."

'Wait… what? Why is she lucky?'

"Yes, thank you, I know I am very, very lucky." Kotomi blushed and squeezed a little tighter. I was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with all this praise. The twins and Furukawa had seemed a little off since our little announcement, Fujibayashi and Furukawa we mostly back to normal, just occasionally giving me strange looks when they didn't think I was looking and turning away as soon as I looked back at them. But Kyou… she seemed distant almost sad a lot of the time. I was seriously hoping it didn't mean what I think it did, time will tell. But I'll have to talk to Kyou if she doesn't pick up soon, and I really don't want to hurt her.

The two months I had to study for my second year resits flew past, thankfully Fujibayashi and Furukawa have seemed to return to their old selves, Kyou however, she was a different story, she wasn't as quiet as she had been, but there was still a deep melancholy in her eyes at times, I had resolved to talk to her about it after my exams but I wasn't looking forward to it one bit, I was pretty sure what the problem was by now, and frankly I'd rather pretend that nothing was wrong, but I needed to try and give her some closure.

"Are you worrying about your exam?" We were walking down to school on Saturday morning, _The _Saturday morning, my last resit was this afternoon.

"Hmm? Oh, no I'm not too worried about that, the mock exams we did yesterday went really well so, I'm okay about that." I didn't want to say any more than that, she'd only worry if I told her, and I didn't want to make thinks worse by making her treat Kyou any differently.

Kotomi looked at me intently for a while as we walked, then she took a deep breath.

"Is it about Kyou-chan?"

"Huh!? W-w-what do you mean?"

"You are worried about her, aren't you?"

"You picked up on that did you?" A nod.

"She has been sad since… since we got engaged."

"Yeah, she has. I want to see if I can help her, but I need to get this exam out of the way first." Kotomi nodded again, she was quiet for a while. "Kotomi-chan? Are you okay?"

"I believe she is in love with you." I was stunned, I had thought the same thing, but I was amazed that Kotomi had picked up on it. She had quite good at reading my moods and emotions, but she still wasn't much good with anyone else. "Do you not think so?"

"Erm, yeah I do I'm just a little surprised that you had had the same thought."

"I have seen the way she looks at you when you are not looking, and I read in a book that it probably means she is in love with you." Of course, she read it in a book. "what will you do?"

"The only thing I can do really, let her down as gently as I can, I know there's no way I can do it without hurting her but, I really don't want to hurt anyone any more than absolutely necessary."

Kotomi wrapped herself around my arm and rested her head on my shoulder.

"You are a good man Tomoya-kun. I hope she will be okay; I don't want to lose a friend."

"Thanks Angel. I really hope she can come to terms with it soon, I hate to see her in pain like this."

Disturbingly Sunohara's reaction to our engagement had been quite similar, except for the fact that he would leave as soon as Kotomi arrived. The thought sent a shudder down my spine, earning me a quizzical look from Kotomi.

Basically, the entire school knew about the engagement now, the result was we would hear whispers of how cute a couple we made from the girls, and the occasional death glare from some of the guys. It seems that Kotomi had earn something of a fan club since she left the library and began socializing more, and the members were less than happy to hear she was off the market.

Home room came to an end and I rose to head to my exam, in spite of myself, I was a little nervous, until I arrived at the class room set aside for my exam and I was greeted by the entire theatre club, all holding up good luck signs. Furukawa's was covered in dongos for some reason, the twins were holding one big one between them, with a scattering of horoscope signs and a picture of Botan, whereas Kotomi's was covered in hearts and a big wedding cake. The other three seemed to find my embarrassment highly amusing and going by the smile on his face so did Koumura-sensei.

I thought of if embarrassment could be fatal or not drifted back into my mind, I can't imagine why.

Koumura lead me into the exam room, still chuckling to himself.

"Quite the fan club you have there, young Tomoya-san."

"Err, yeah. So, exam, shall we get started?" Another chuckle.

"Very well, you may begin." The time flew by and I was done in next to no time. It was finally all over. Unfortunately, that left me without an excuse to speak with Kyou.

I stepped out the class room and much like last time Kotomi immediately attached herself to me. Furukawa and Fujibayashi both chuckled.

"Kotomi-chan, can you give me a minute? I need to speak to Kyou." She looked up at me, nodded and released me.

"M-m-me? W-what do you need me for?" Kyou looked to be on the verge of panic, Fujibayashi looked at her sister with concern.

"Yeah, there's something I think we need to discuss." She looked like she was about to make a run for it, but thankfully, she stood her ground.

"We'll go to the Theatre club room and see you guys in a while, okay?" Three nods. _"Fujibayashi, would you stay close by? She may need you." _I whispered to Fujibayashi as we passed her, she gave me a sad nod, clearly understanding what was going on_._

We entered the club room having not said a word to each other, I sat down on the far side of the table and motioned to her to sit on the side closest to the door, I didn't want her to have to get past me if she wanted to get out of the room.

"It's all your fault you know," Kyou fiddled with the hem of her top as she slowly walked over to the table. "You had to go and be all 'kind' and 'gentle' and 'reliable' didn't you." Kyou sighed as she flopped down into the chair. She was still looking down at her lap, unable to look me in the eye. "How could we not fall for you?"

'We? Furukawa maybe?'

"We already liked you from last year, you're so tall and handsome and cool, but we had already lost, hadn't we?" Tears began to drip on to the table. I got up and knelt down next to her chair and put my arm around her.

"I'm so sorry… I never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all you guys. You were the only ones who would talk to me for so long… I'd hate to lose you as a friend." I was choking up myself at this point.

"What about Sunohara?"

"Huh? Sunohara?"

"Isn't he your friend?"

"Good God no!" I gave an exaggerated shudder. "Perish the thought." Kyou smiled briefly, then she put her arms around me and wept into my shoulder for a while. I heard the door open a little and Fujibayashi's worry ridden face poked in. I waved her over and she almost ran to her sisters' side.

"Onee-chan?"

"*sniff* I'm okay… I will be anyway."

'I really hope she is.' Fujibayashi and Furukawa led the sniffling Kyou away, for some much-needed ice-cream therapy as Kotomi stepped in to the room. She watched as the trio headed home, clearly worried.

"Tomoya-kun? Are you alright?"

"Good God that was horrible, if I live to be 300 years old it'd be too soon to see her face like that again." I opened my arms and Kotomi took her customary position, I rested my chin on the top of her head and sighed.

"You're a wonderful man, I am sure you did your best for her."

"Thank you, angel, I really hope it was enough." Kotomi squeezed a little harder. "I am so glad I decided to go the library that day."

"So am I."

We didn't see much of Kyou for a few days, it was expected really. Thankfully by Wednesday she had re-joined our little group, she was a little reserved to begin with, but she soon settled in.

We were eating lunch in the club room on Friday when I was called to the teacher's office over the loudspeakers.

"What have you done now?" Kyou smirked as she was presented with a golden opportunity for a dig.

"Nothing… I don't think so anyway."

Thankfully it was Koumura-sensei trying to avoid a repeat performance from my cheer squad.

"Well then, young man, I have your last results." I took a deep breath.

"Okay, how did I do?"

"Straight A's, hmmm…. just imagine what you could have achieved if you'd tried this hard from the beginning." Again, I was lost for words, ironic given I scored so high on my vocabulary. "It seems you have successfully seized your second chance. I most proud of your achievements."

"Err, thank you Sensei, I am extremely grateful for your help, thank you for letting me fix my mistakes."

"You're very welcome Tomoya-san."

I was still in shock when I got back to the club room.

"Well? What was it all about?" Kyou was the first to speak as usual.

"Oh… err it was Koumura-sensei, he wanted to give me my exam result." Kotomi sprang to her feet and was by my side in a flash.

"H-how did you do." She was clinging to the front of my shirt.

"I got straight A's."

"WHAT!" Kyou again "How?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh! Tomoya-kun, I knew you could do it!"

"Than-mmpph" I was suddenly interrupted by a Kotomi attaching itself to my face, much to the embarrassment of everyone else in the room. I pried her off me as gently as I could "Kotomi, you get that we're not alone here, right?" She was pouting at me at this point, but I wasn't quite sure if it was because I stopped her kissing me or because I missed off the -chan, she was oddly attached to that for some reason.

"We should go somewhere to celebrate." Surprisingly it was Furukawa that suggestion.

"How about we all go to the ice-cream shop." It was the first place I thought of frankly not to mention it was cheap.


	3. Chapter 3 Moving on

**Chapter 3- moving on**

As Kotomi and I were walking home after an unexpectedly raucous visit to the ice-cream shop, when a certain gentleman in a rain coat stepped into view. Kotomi immediately tensed up and moved slightly behind my arm.

"Kotomi-chan, you understand that he's not actually a bad man, don't you?"

"Y-yes I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."

"It's quite alright Kotomi-chan, I understand." He smiled warmly at Kotomi as he spoke, then he turned his attention to me. "So, it looks like you got your wish then." Kotomi gave me a confused look as my face heated up.

"Ah, umm, yes." I had no idea what to say the man, it suddenly hit me, 'Oh crap! He's her legal guardian, I should have asked his permission to marry Kotomi months ago!' a look of horror formed on my face.

"Tomoya-kun? Is something wrong?"

"No, err sort of, maybe, I err need to speak to," 'I don't even know his name!' "That is, I need to talk to your Godfather a moment."

"It's okay Okazaki-san, I believe I already know what it's about, and I have no objections."

"Huh?" Kotomi was getting more and more confused. But then again so was I.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself properly. My name is Hideyo, Koumura Hideyo. I believe you know my older brother."

'He can't be serious!' I was utter stunned. He chuckled to himself at my astonishment, it did remind me of the old man's chuckle.

"Really!?"

"Indeed, I approached Toshio quite a while ago to see if he knew much about you, His initial reports on you were… troubling, but he was insistent that you showed true potential and you were having a remarkably positive effect on Kotomi-chan." He paused to let this new batch of information sink in. "And I hear that he has been vindicated in spectacular style. I doubt he'll ever let me forget that."

"I have no clue what to say…" He laughed loudly, taking a while to regain his composure.

"I am not surprised, I am sorry for dumping quite so much on you all at once, I got a little carried away."

"No, no, I really should have sought you out sooner."

"I quite understand, I'm not the most active guardian there ever was but I do like to keep an eye on Kotomi-chan in my own way. We will have to sit down and discuss your future plans at some point soon, but for now all I wanted to do was congratulate the two of you on all of your good news."

"Yeah, thank you…" My mind was still reeling so I was barely able to respond.

"Good night Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-san," He bowed gently and walked off toward town."

"Kotomi-chan?"

"Yes Tomoya-kun?"

"What just happened?"

"I am unsure."

"Yeah, me too." The events of the short conversation did eventually sink in, but only just.

"He's Koumura-sensei's brother?!" We sat in the club room, on Saturday morning sharing the tale of our walk home, well most of it anyway. Kyou grilled us for information while the other two sat in stunned silence

"Yeah, I was surprised too."

"I guess it does explain the moustache likeness anyway. And he said it's okay for you to get married?"

"Not in so many words, but yeah. Now that you mention it, they are quite similar aren't they."

"Wow, you do lead an interesting life don't you."

"Yeah, no kidding."

As second period came to an end Sunohara flopped himself down in his chair.

"Oh hey, I haven't seen much of you lately, how have you been?"

"Yeah well you'd rather hang around _her_ wouldn't you, not with us normal folk."

"_Her_? You mean Kotomi?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" I was really surprised at how angry he sounded.

"Isn't it natural to hang out with Kotomi, we are getting married, right? It's not like either of us has ever tried to exclude you."

"How could I forget? The whole schools talking about it. Whatever, just leave me alone, I need to get some sleep."

"Yeah, sure."

Once lunch time came around, I mentioned Sunohara's attitude to the rest of the gang at the Theatre club.

"He's jealous." Kyou just announced her conclusion like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Jealous? Of me?"

"Nope, of her." Kyou pointed at Kotomi with a triumphant smile. Everyone else just stared at either Kotomi or me.

"Of Kotomi? You're lost me now Kyou."

"You really are clueless, aren't you? I thought you'd at least work it out when it was another guy. You had some sort of excuse with us, you know us being girls and all, but you really don't see it, do you?"

"You don't mean…"

"Yup."

"Is… you know…"

"Yup."

"With me?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Of course, he is! Bakka."

"Crap." Furukawa was bright red and looked about ready to pass out, and Fujibayashi wasn't far behind. Kotomi just looked confused.

"Umm, Kyou-chan, I don't understand."

"Sunohara is in love with your fiancé." A brief flash of understanding crossed Kotomi's face, and then she passed out.

"Kotomi!"

"Kotomi-chan, are you back with us?"

"Tomoya-kun, why am I on the floor?"

"You fainted Angel."

"Oh, I-I am sorry, I did not mean to worry you."

"You don't need to apologise sweetheart, it's not like you did it on purpose. Okay now get up slowly, I don't want you blacking out again." I glared at Kyou as I gently helped Kotomi up off the floor.

"What are you glaring at me for? How was I supposed to know she'd pass out?"

"Just a little more delicacy is all I ask, Kotomi isn't as 'robust' as you are."

"Are you calling me fat! Did he just say I'm fat!"

"Kyou, put the dictionary down. I just meant emotionally." Kyou lowered the brandished weapon.

"Oh… right… I knew that." Sure, you did.

"That aside, what the heck do I do about Sunohara?"

"I assume you're not interested."

"Heck no!"

"That's a relief." Kotomi was nodding emphatically looking a little alarmed.

"Kyou."

"What?" I pointed at Kotomi. "Oh, right, sorry Kotomi-chan. So, as I see it you have three options."

"Okay."

"One, ignore it all together, two ignore him or three, do what you did for me and tell him you're already taken. Personally, I'd recommend option two."

'Okay Tomoya, you can do this… man this is weird.'

"Hey, Sunohara! You got a minute?"

"Where's your little harem today?"

"I don't have a harem. Anyway, I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, whatever." We sat against the stone wall in the back courtyard. "Well?"

"So um, I haven't seen you much lately"

"Yeah, you said that yesterday." His voice was deadpan, as if the whole thing was boring.

"Look I'll just come out and say it. Are you jealous?"

"Huh? Of who?"

"Kotomi." Wow that was really embarrassing to say out loud.

"WHAT!?" Sunohara jumped about 6 feet sideways.

"So that's a no?"

"Of Course, It's a NO!"

"Oh, thank God for that."

"Seriously? You thought I was… you know… with you?"

"Well what would you think? You leave as soon as Kotomi arrives, get angry anytime I mention that we're getting married and you've been avoiding the rest of the Theatre club."

"Oh, I guess I can see that, but I wasn't avoiding the theatre club, I was avoiding Kyou."

"Ahhh, Okay, that makes more sense. But why do you keep leaving when Kotomi turns up and get angry about us getting married?"

"Firstly, it's kinda gross when you two get all lovey-dovey and when you talk about getting married it just feels like you're leaving me behind."

"So, you were avoiding us because you didn't like being left behind? How does that make sense?"

"I guess it doesn't really." He blinked at his own realization.

"Oh, and we've had it pointed out to us about the lovey-dovey stuff by the girls too, so we try to keep it too a minimum when we're around the others. So, buddies?"

"Yeah sure. You don't want to hug, or something now do you?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"Heck no."

"Oh good, that's relief."

"Yeah, imagine my relief." That was the first time I heard him laugh in months.

The following Monday Sunohara came to the club room at lunch time.

"Hey guys, room for one more?"

"Oh! Sunohara-kun please come in." To everyone's surprise it was Furukawa that leaped up to greet him. Almost immediately going bright red when she realized we were all looking at her. Sunohara started coming to the club room most days for lunch (When he had arrived at school by lunch, some things will never change.) He and Kyou clashed a bit at the beginning, in the end we had to force a cease fire while in the club room, it worked for the most part. A couple of weeks after the end of hostilities Sunohara and I sat watching the girls fuss over Kotomi as they discussed our upcoming wedding.

"They get really excited over this stuff don't they." Sunohara mused as we watched.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it, you should see all of the books and magazines Kotomi-chan has at home."

"Still making you use the chan huh."

"Yeah, just pouts at me if I don't, I must admit that pout is kind of cute but there isn't much I can do about it."

"Don't you think it's a little weird how much she likes it?"

"It's a little unusual yes, but she's had a rough life, so I think she's entitled to a few eccentricities."

"Eccen-what's?"

"Never mind."

"You just can't say no to her, can you?"

"Yes, I can." I was getting a little defensive now

"Oh yeah? Like when?"

"Erm…" Sunohara just laughed.

"You're doomed dude." One day will work out how to say no to Kotomi… probably. He did make a good point about the honorifics though.

"Kotomi-chan?"

"Yes, Tomoya-kun?"

"Why are you so insistent on using honorifics?" She just looked at me like I had asked why she breathes.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I mean, we've been dating for a few months now, we're getting married before long, so I figure is okay to drop them, don't you?"

"I-I don't… I am… umm…" She was getting flustered now.

"It's okay Kotomi-chan, it's okay, I'm here." Kotomi took a surprisingly long time to calm down. It was becoming clear that it was about more than just thing for honorifics. I would have to get some advice on this one.

"So, what did you need to talk about Tomoya-san?" I decided that it was probably best to speak to her guardian first.

"Do you know if Kotomi ever saw a grief councillor at any point?"

"Not that I'm aware of, and I highly doubt she would seek out that sort of thing on her own. Why? Did something happen?"

"Not as such, now that you mention it, she did have a bit of a melt down a few months back when we thought one of our friends was involved in a bus crash. It took days to get her to even see me again."

"Hmm, yes that is quite worrying. Was there something more recent that inspired you to call me?"

"Yes, there was, nothing on that scale, thankfully. But she got really quite flustered and took nearly half an hour to calm down again."

"What caused her to get so upset."

"I asked her why she was so insistent on continuing to use honorifics despite our relationship."

"Hmm, yes that does seem… excessive."

"Do you think it has something to do with her parents?"

"It could be, but phycology isn't really my area. I'll see if I can find her someone to help her."

"Let me talk to her about the idea first, I don't want her to feel like she's being cornered or forced into something." He stared at me for a while before speaking again.

"Every time we speak, I am more and more glad that Toshio stuck up for you. Very well, we'll do it your way. Let me know how it goes."

"Thank you, I'll keep you up to date." He bowed and headed off toward the car park without further comment.

"Kotomi-chan, I would like you to talk to someone about your parents."

"I do not understand." I held her hand.

"I think it would do you a lot of good if you spoke to a professional about how it made you feel, and what it was like in your house after." Kotomi began to tremble. "It's okay Kotomi-chan, I'm here for you, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Kotomi took a deep shuddering breath. Thankfully, she seemed to calm down a little. "You see, you should be able to talk about your parents and remember the good times, not just the pain."

"Y-you really believe it would help?"

"I do, I want nothing but happiness for you, but I think you're still carrying a lot of sadness and pain around with you."

"Okay, I trust you Tomoya-kun."

"Thank you, Angel, that means a lot to me."

"W-will you go with me?"

"Of course I will, I'll always be right here when you need me, okay?"

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun, I love you so much." She threw her arms around my neck and clung to me for nearly an hour. This was going to be a long road.

Koumura-sama found an appropriate professional for Kotomi to talk to. When the day came, she spent the entire time in the waiting room hiding behind me, so much so that when the doctor came out to greet her, he looked at me a little surprised.

"I sorry, I was led to believe I would be speaking to a young lady?"

"You are, this is Ichinose Kotomi." I pulled Kotomi forward from behind me.

"Ah, don't worry, I don't bite." Kotomi attempted to get back around behind me as soon as he spoke to her. "A few trust issues I see."

"She's just really shy around new people."

"That she is, and you are?"

"I am Okazaki Tomoya, Kotomi's fiancé."

"I see, Miss Ichinose, would you come this way then we can have a nice chat and get to know each other a bit better." Kotomi resumed her attempts to hide.

"Kotomi-chan, you agreed to this didn't you?"

"Yes." Kotomi's reply was barely above a whisper.

"And you know that I think it will help you, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And you trust me, don't you?"

"Oh, yes Tomoya-kun I do trust you." She got a little flustered at this point, I think she had thought I was suggesting she was saying that she didn't.

"I know you do Angel. Now do you think you could go and have a talk with the nice doctor?"

"C-c-can you c-come with me?"

"We'll have to ask the doctor won't we." I really felt like I was babying her by now, but if that's what it takes to get her some help, I'll do it.

"W-would it be okay i-if Tomoya-kun came in with me?" Her voice was barely audible, but she managed to ask without further prompting. The doctor looked at me for a moment before answering.

"I think that would be an excellent idea." He waved us into his office with a smile.

Kotomi was happy enough to go in on her own for the next visit but only if I stayed in the waiting room.

A couple of months passed and Kotomi had made excellent progress, she was becoming more and more engaged with the others in the theatre club, except for Sunohara, for some reason she just didn't seem to take to him. Maybe she was just a good judge of character, that or she didn't like the way he would look at her chest when she spoke to him. Time marched onward and the twin deadlines of graduation and the wedding loomed ever closer


	4. Chapter 4 A future together

**Chapter 4 – A future together**

"Tomoya, what do you think of this one?" At long last Kotomi had managed to let the honorifics go, with me at least, it's progress so I'm not going to complain, unfortunately, in this case I was being shown yet another wedding dress.

"It looks very nice Angel." Kotomi managed to both frown and pout at the same time.

"You said that about the last on too."

"I'm very sorry sweetheart, but I think you'd look amazing in all of them." The frown, pout combo was replaced with a bashful smile.

"T-thank you Tomoya-kun." I had to chuckle at her slip up, she still reverts to the honorifics when she gets flustered.

"Besides, I'm not supposed to see the dress until the wedding, am I?"

"Oh, that is a good point."

"Why don't you get together with the twins and Furukawa so you can brain storm a bit."

"That's an excellent idea."

"See, I do have a good one every now and then."

"You have lots of good ideas." Kotomi gave me an impish smile and wrapped her arms around my neck. An unforeseen side effect of Kotomi's counselling was that she was becoming more… affectionate. She was for the most part keeping it under control when there was the potential for us to be seen, but from time to time, she would slip up and get a little 'friendly' without thinking, usually when we'd been talking about the wedding.

"Oi! Put him down! You don't know where he's been!" timed perfectly as ever Kyou walked into the club room.

"But I do know, where he's been. I was with him." To be fair it was pretty much the truth, but Kyou still hadn't gotten used to Kotomi being capable of an effective retort, so she was left agape for a moment. Amusing Fujibayashi and Furukawa no end.

"Good morning, Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-san."

"Good morning girls."

"Good morning Nagisa-chan, Ryou-chan, Kyou-chan,"

"Yeah good morning Kotomi-chan." Kyou had managed to recover the use of her mouth at last.

"Good morning, Okazaki-san, Kotomi-chan."

"Oooh, got the new issue then." Kyou grabbed the magazine off the table where Kotomi had dropped it in order to snuggle up to me. "Is there anything you like?"

"There was a couple I like the look of, Tomoya suggested that I would be better talking to you three, because he is not supposed to see the dress before the ceremony, and he thinks I would look good in all of them."

"Good lord, if you two get any sweeter I'm going to end up in a diabetic coma." Kyou managed to get us both to blush this time. "Why don't we all come around to your house after school and we can take a look in private?"

"Onee-chan, you should really study, our exams are coming up soon."

"Have a little mercy Ryou, one afternoon off isn't going to be the end of the world." Kotomi's ears pricked up at the mention of studying.

"I know, we could, look at wedding dresses, and then we could study together."

"Do you even need to study?" Kyou was a little sceptical about the idea.

"She doesn't really need to study herself no, but she is an excellent study buddy. She worked wonders for me."

"That's a good point. Okazaki-kun's test scores are the best in the class." Fujibayashi suddenly realised her gaff and blushed bright red all the way to her ears. "I-I only saw by accident when I was handing out the results, I promise."

"It's fine don't worry about it."

"Seriously? _His_ test scores are better than yours?"

"Onee-chan, he's in the top 50 in the school."

"WHAT!?" I must admit it was a little irritating that she was so surprised that I actually have a brain.

"What can I say, I finally have a good reason to try hard." I smiled at Kotomi causing that oh so adorable bashful smile.

"Ugh, lay off you two, I don't fancy seeing my breakfast again." Unfortunately, this just made Kotomi blush even more.

Home room finally came to an end and I headed out of the class room just in time for Kotomi to clamp herself around my chest. It was something of a habit of hers to ambush me with hugs or kisses, but she didn't often do it in school.

"Kotomi, do you think I could get through the door first?" She just squeezed me a little tighter. So, I slowly shuffled us off to the side. "I'm not complaining, but what brought this on?"

"I missed you." This drew a round of 'Aww' and 'cute~' from a group of girls that were watching the spectacle of Kotomi firmly attached to me. "And Kyou, Ryou and Negisa are going to help me pick out a dress this afternoon, so I won't see you then either."

"I tell you what, how about you give me a call when you guys start studying and I'll come and join you. How does that sound?"

"Okay." That got the smile back on her face.

"Alright then, shall we go and meet the others?" Kotomi nodded and transferred her grip from my chest to my arm, and we headed for the club room. "Hey, Sunohara! You coming?"

"Yeah, okay. So, you're free this afternoon, are you?"

"Looks that way, you feel like hitting the arcade for a bit?"

"Yeah, sounds like fun."

"You can join us for the study session too, if you like."

"Yeah right, like that'd ever happen."

"I thought you'd say that somehow, the offer stands though, you're always welcome." Sunohara just rolled his eyes and headed off to the club room.

Sunohara and I spent a couple of hours in the arcade, until Kotomi rang my mobile phone, to say they were done with dress hunting and were going to start studying.

"When did you get that?" Sunohara pointed at my phone looking very surprised.

"Oh, Kotomi got it for me, she doesn't like being out of touch with me."

"Ugh, why did I ask? Aren't you two over all this lovey-dovey stuff yet?"

"Apparently not. You coming to study with us?"

"Thanks, I'll pass. Catch you later."

"Yeah, see you round."

I arrived at Kotomi's house to find girls sitting cross legged in a semi-circle on the back lawn. Kotomi sprang to her feet and pounced toward me.

"Tomoya! I missed you."

"I missed you mmpph!" Ambush kissed… again.

"Ahem, there are other people here you know." Kyou interjected looking a little awkward.

"Of course, sorry, I got a little over excited." Kotomi turned bright red.

"Yeah, we can see that."

"Aaaanyway, how did the dress hunt go?"

"Yes, yes I believe we have found the correct dress," She was getting excitable again. "We are going to go and try it on tomorrow." Kotomi was practically bouncing now, I hadn't seen her so excitable before, I have to admit it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling, knowing that she was so excited about our wedding.

"You're thinking mushy thoughts again, aren't you?" Kyou looked rather unimpressed.

"H-how did you know that?"

"You get a really goofy smile on your face, do you mind if we get back to work? Or do I need turn the hose on you two?"

"Ah, yes, that's probably a good idea."

"Great, I'll get the hose." She was a little too eager there.

"NO! I mean studying, not the hose." Kyou's shoulders slumped and she gave an exaggerated sigh.

"You're no fun, oh well study it is then."

The following day I went into town to meet the girls for lunch after their little shopping trip, the moment Kotomi spotted me she sprinted over to me and flung her arms around me. She gazed up at me with a huge smile and sparkling eyes.

"Tomoya-kun! Tomoya-kun! We have found it! We have found the perfect dress!" I couldn't help but chuckle at excited she was. "Oh! I am sorry I called you kun again, I just got over excited." She raised her hands to cover her mouth.

"I can see that, and it's okay Angel, I don't mind." The smile returned to her face. We headed in to a nearby family restaurant for lunch. "So, have you decided what you want to do about bridesmaids?"

"Kyou-chan and Negisa-chan well be bridesmaids and Ryou-chan will be my maid of honour." The three girls in question sat across the table from us grinning from ear to ear, Fujibayashi looked a little teary eyed.

"I was really touched that you chose me for such an honour." Fujibayashi croaked a bit as she spoke, clearly quite emotional.

"Okazaki-kun? Have you decided who your best man will be yet?" I had been leaning on Furukawa's parents a bit recently, given my father may as well not exist, I was in need of a grown-up opinion on some matters. The furukawa's were, shall we say 'eccentric' but they're good people, and more than willing to help out. So, I wasn't surprised that Furukawa asked.

"No, not yet." Kyou looked a little surprised.

"I assumed that you'd have that blond idiot be your best man."

"Hmm, yeah, it crossed my mind, but I'm not sure we're that close really anyway. Frankly I consider you more of a friend than Sunohara."

"Oh… umm…" Wow, I'd actually left Kyou speechless. "Thank you Tomoya, that… that means a lot to me, really."

"Yeah… anytime." I was surprised at Kyou's sincerity, I was so used to exchanging retorts and sarcastic barbs, I didn't quite know what to say.

"D-did you have anyone else in mind?" It was Fujibayashi that got things rolling again this time.

"Not really, I'm not that friendly with many guys. Most of the guys my age that I know are monumentally boring nerds, or-"

"This coming from the guy with the highest scores in his class."

"Yes, yes, thank you Kyou. So, nerds or they're too busy trying to look cool, I just don't really want to spend time with those kinds of people."

"How can you have such high standards _and_ hang out with an idiot like Sunohara?" Kyou was on form today.

"I see where your coming from there, honestly, I think my 'friendship' with Sunohara is or was one of convenience, we both needed a reason to come to school, even if it was just to wind each other up. I think that's why Koumura-sensei put us together in the first place. Now that I have better reasons to come to school, we've begun to outgrow each other."

"That's pretty deep Tomoya, are you planning on being a philosopher or something?"

"Me a philosopher? Don't be ridiculous." Kyou was too busy laughing to answer me at the moment.

"Had you thought about what you are going to do after we graduate Okazaki-kun?"

"Yeah, I've been talking that through with your parents, and Kotomi too obviously. I think I've settled on teaching, kindergarten more specifically, now that my grades are good enough, I can go to university if I want."

"Teaching! Really?" I had expected Kyou to tease me about it, but she sounded almost excited.

"Yes, Tomoya is very good with people." Kotomi announced her opinion with no small amount of pride.

"Thank you Kotomi. Anyway, what about you guys?" Furukawa shifted around uncomfortably.

"I will probably just work at my parent's bakery." She was obviously feeling quite down about it.

"Taking over the family business hey? Good for you, Furukawa." She cheered up somewhat after my encouragement.

"I see what you were saying now Kotomi," Everyone stared at Kyou, not quite understanding what she had said. "Well you saw what he just did for Negisa, didn't you? She was sad and feeling inadequate and he cheered her right up with one sentence, didn't you Tomoya?" all eyes were trained on me now, Kotomi was practically glowing with pride, and my face was about ready to burst into flames in embarrassment.

"Well… yeah… She's my friend, I couldn't just leave her feeling like that could I?" Furukawa had her hands clasped in front of her chest and tears forming in her eyes.

"Thank you Okazaki-kun." Fujibayashi put her arm across Furukawa's shoulders and embraced her, smiling fondly.

"Moving on, what about you Kyou, where are you going after graduation?"

"Me? Oh, um I'm… going to um…"

"Onee-chan is going to be a kindergarten teacher too." Kyou's jaw dropped as Fujibayashi dropped her bombshell.

"Oh, excellent! You could be going to the same college as Tomoya." Kotomi added excitedly.

"Yeah it would be nice to have a friend there already." Kyou recovered enough to return my smile. "What about you Fujibayashi?"

"I've been accepted into nursing school. I assume you will be going to university, Kotomi-chan?"

"Umm, no…" For some reason I had yet to discover Kotomi was really self-conscious about the job offer she had received. Everyone looked quite shocked at her admission.

"What? You're not planning on being a full-time house-wife, are you?" Kyou glared at me as she asked, I got the distinct impression that there was a dictionary with my name on it if Kotomi said yes.

"Kotomi has already been offered a job at a nearby lab, quite a lot of job offers as it turns out, including one in Tokyo." Kotomi was too busy blushing to answer, so thought it best answer for her, or Kyou would be going for her book bag.

"You could go to Tokyo, and you decide to stay here? Why?"

"I would be too far away from Tomoya." Kyou face palmed, while the other girls burst out laughing.

"Why did I even bother to ask?" Kyou asked in a voice full of amusement, as I continued my study into the potential of fatal embarrassment.

Days and weeks ticked by exams came and went I was accepted into the nearest teacher training program, they almost didn't let me in when that saw my prior school record, thankfully Koumura-sensei rode to the rescue once again, he wrote an embarrassingly glowing character reference and his brother did the same, so, faced with references from a veteran teacher and a prominent scientist associated to the prestigious Ichinose foundation, they reversed the decision and gave me a place.

Sadly, Kyou had not been so lucky, she had thrown a few too many books and her school file had been flagged with 'Prone to violent outbursts' so most of the local teacher training programs wouldn't touch her with a 10-foot barge poll. Kyou got really depressed for a while, but Kotomi pleaded with her Godfather to try and help her, given it was literally the only thing she had ever asked him to do, he said he would do what he could but made no promises. It took him nearly a week to find somewhere willing to take a chance on her, she would need to travel quite a long way to get there but that wasn't a problem as her father had said he would buy her a car if it meant his little girl could have the future she wanted.

Kyou was in floods of tears when she arrived at Kotomi's house to thank her for saving her dream. It was a side of her I had never seen before, but it was a side of her she would allow us to see more and more after that night, I believe we were finally allowed to see the real Kyou, we exchanged retorts and sarcastic remarks, but there was a more caring side to her that did make her seem more suitable to be a teacher.

Sunohara went back to his home town to try and find work, he was unsure of what he would be able to get given his grades. But he promised he'd be back for graduation. Ryou was getting to be quite busy because her nursing school had offered her extra pre-term training and paid work at the weekends, so we had to work around her hours for the wedding plans a bit.

With graduation mere days away and the wedding in a couple of weeks off, I finally gave in to Kotomi's badgering to go and see my dad, I had become quite adept at avoiding him, and would go a week or more without seeing him never mind speaking to him. But Kotomi could be remarkably stubborn given the right subject. I finally gave in when she played the 'I wish I could go and see my mommy and daddy' card. Kotomi decided that we would go after school on Saturday.

As we stepped into my dad's house, Kotomi pulled closer into my arm, I looked over to see her with the deer in the headlights expression she used to have every time she met someone new. She was quite nervous about meeting him and had even got dressed up in a very lovely blue and white dress with white gloves, she looked nothing short of stunning. This made her look all the more out of place among the detritus of my dad's creation. I tried to keep the place clear, but it would always end up a mess again by the time I got home.

As I turned the corner into to lounge, I nearly stepped on my dad's arm, he was sprawled across the door way fast asleep. All I could do was sigh and step over him. Kotomi's hands were pressed to her mouth in shock.

"I told you I wasn't exaggerating didn't I." Kotomi just nodded still in shock. "Come on dad, time to get up. There's someone you need to meet." He gave a slight grunt but showed no further sign of moving. "Kotomi, would you mind putting a pot of tea on while I try and get him presentable?"

"Y-y-yes, of course Tomoya-kun."

"Thank you, Angel, the tea is in a red tin on the second shelf by the sink and the cups are in the cupboard next to that." Kotomi nodded and tottered of toward the kitchen. "Come on dad, up and at em."

"Tomoya-kun?"

"Would you please stop calling me that." Kotomi and I had already talked over what I should say if he called me 'Tomoya-Kun' and had finally settled on a script of sorts.

"Huh?"

"I am you son, not someone you ran into in the bar." It was taking a great deal of self-control to stop myself from shouting at him, but it seemed to be sinking in at least a little. "Come on dad, sit up, some tea will be ready in a minute."

"Oh, yes of course." It was fairly evident he had no clue what was going on.

"You, awake yet? There's someone you need to meet." As if on cue a rattling of cups on a trembling tray approached the lounge. An extremely nervous Kotomi arrived in the door way, she was trembling so much felt compelled to take the tray off her before she dropped it. "This is Ichinose Kotomi." I placed the tea tray down on the table. "My fiancée." Kotomi smiled and bowed.

"H-h-hello Okazaki-san, it is nice to meet you." I hadn't seen her this nervous in quite some time.

"Oh, it's my pleasure my dear." He recovered far quicker than I expected. "I am pleased to see Tomoya-k... err… Tomoya has found himself such a beautiful young lady." I was floored, I hadn't expected him to have even heard me never mind taken in what he was hearing properly. I just stared a him until Kotomi squeezed my hand and snapped me out of it.

"Tomoya has been very kind to me, he has also been doing very well in his exams." Kotomi's pride in me seemed to have overpowered her shyness and she was on a roll. "And will be starting at teacher training school next term."

"Oh? Really?" Dad's turn to be gob smacked.

"Yeah, Kotomi has been a huge help to me, she helped me challenge my old exam grades and find a career I can care about. She has already given me a future, and we're not even married yet." Kotomi was fidgeting with fingers in her lap blushing all the way to her ears now.

"Then I already owe you a great deal." I hadn't thought it possible but Kotomi went even redder under the barrage of compliments and thanks. "I think we'd best give your fiancée a moment to recover, don't you Tomoya?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, that would probably be a good idea."

"Would you like some tea dear?" Kotomi managed a nod. "Tomoya?"

"Yes please."

"So, have you two set a date for the wedding yet?"

"Ah… Yes… about that, it's um… it's two weeks today." A shadow of regret crossed my Dad's face, making me feel really guilty.

"Don't worry, I understand. I have not been the best father to you all these years, have I?" Dad lowered his head in shame, sight of him like that gave me a tightness in my chest.

"I think you must have been a better father than you believe, Tomoya is a wonderful man." His eyes snapped up as Kotomi gave him an emotion filled address. "He is kind, cares deeply about his friends and never turns away from someone in need." All three of had watery eyes now, but it was Dad that spoke first.

"Thank you, young lady, it is very kind of you to say so." His voice was thick and husky with emotion barely held in check.

We drank our tea quietly for a while so we could all calm down, after that we chatted comfortably for over an hour. It was the first time I could remember sitting and having a conversation with him.

Graduation day, I couldn't quite decide if it was 'Graduation day already' or 'Graduation day at last' I had tried asking Kotomi what she thought but the question just confused her.

"Tomoya,"

"Hmm?"

"Are you looking forward to Graduating?"

"Yeah, I am, it's funny, just a few months ago I would have said no or that I didn't care. But now, yes, I definitely am."

"Good, I am very pleased for you." Between the way she was walking, with her arm looped through mine, and the gentle smile on her lips, Kotomi suddenly struck me as looking exceptionally lady like. "Tomoya? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I was just thinking how beautiful you are."

"Oh… Thank you Tomoya."

"Hey! Okazaki!"

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Very funny, Okazaki."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"It's me! Sunohara!"

"Seriously? What happened to your head man, it looks really weird."

"I go away for a few weeks and suddenly you're a comedian." Kotomi giggled at his remark. "Did she just giggle? Since when do you giggle?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised what she can do, she can even nail Kyou with a retort."

"Seriously?"

"Yup, she left Kyou speechless not so long ago." He looked like I had just shown him conclusive proof that grass was really pink. "Anyway, what happened to your hair."

"This is it's natural colour, I couldn't get a job with it still blond."

"Fair enough, did you get something?"

"Yeah I'll be driving a cab."

"At least you got something, there's plenty of people that can't get anything you know."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, especially with a record like ours."

"So… you didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Tomoya is going to college next term."

"What with grades like yours?"

"You never looked at the exam league tables then?"

"No, why would I?"

"Umm you may not believe this, but I'm in the top 50 in the school."

"Huh? The top 50%?"

"No… the top 50, as in, there are only 49 people in the school with better test results."

"WHAT! When did that happen!"

"Do you remember when I first started to ask if you wanted to study with us?"

"Yeah."

"Then basically, I challenged my previous exam results so would have to option to got to uni or at least get a better job."

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING!"

"Sorry man, I tried to talk you round but…"

"Who's doing all that shouting? And who's this guy?"

"Very funny Kyou, but Okazaki already done that routine."

"Dang it, beaten to it by the class swot."

"Good morning, Kyou-chan, Ryou-chan."

"Good morning Okazaki-kun, Kotomi-chan."

"Mornin' Kyou, Fujibayashi. Have you two seen Furukawa yet?"

"There she is, at the bottom of the hill."

"Speak of the devil huh."

"So, Sunohara, did you find a job?"

"Yeah, driving a cab."

"Good for you."

"Err… yeah, thanks Kyou. Fujibayashi did you put something in your sister's morning coffee?"

"Oh, that's lovely that is, I'm nice to you and you accuse my sister of drugging me?"

"Yeah, it's weird." Kyou just folded her arms in a huff and turned away from him.

"Good morning Negisa-chan."

"Good morning everyone, Oh, who's this?" Everyone erupted in laughter, apart from an annoyed Sunohara and a confused Furukawa.

After the ceremony was over, I made a point to seek out Koumura-sensei.

"Hey old man." Kotomi gave me a disapproving look.

"Hmmm… Tomoya-san, you have not called me that for a long time."

"One last time, for old times' sake, look I wanted to make sure that I spoke to you before I left today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I owe you more than I can ever repay, if you hadn't given me a second chance, I would never have been able to make something of my life."

"That is where you are wrong Tomoya-san, I would not have had a second chance to give you had you not already earned it."

"I don't follow."

"Hmm. By the time you came to me, asking to challenge your exam results, your attendance was perfect and your test results in the top 5 in your class. Did I help you with that?"

"Well no but-"

"If you have anyone to thank for that, it is yourself, and this young lady you have on your arm."

"I see what you mean there, and I know I owe a lot to Kotomi-"

"You have helped me a lot too." Offered Kotomi.

"Yes, that's true but-"

"So, it seems we are all even then?"

"*sigh* this is not going the way expected it to go. Give and take aside, there is one thing I do definitely owe you."

"Hmm… and what would that be."

"Sunohara. If you hadn't put us together that day, I never would have finished school."

"Hmmm… very well, I will admit to that. There is however one thing you can do to repay me."

"Name it."

"One day in the future you will no doubt come across a student that need the same kind of help that you did, give that student all the help you can."

"You know I'm going to be a kindergarten teacher, right?"

"Indeed, I do, but you have a long career ahead of you, and I suspect you will move on to new challenges one day."

"I hear you're retiring."

"Hmmm, I am far too old, and I am not needed here anymore. I am pleased that I can depart on a high note, even young Sunohara-san managed to graduate."

"Yeah, he was here, but he didn't hang around long."

"Hmmm… I was a little surprised he came in the first place."

"I think he was planning on rubbing my nose in the fact he had found a job, he hadn't heard about my grades, so it's kind of burst his bubble when we told him."

"Hmm… so he managed to find work did he, good. I was a little concerned he would struggle to find anything."

"You don't need to worry about him too much, he's a survivor."

"Hmmm… It seems that someone else would like to speak to you." Koumura leaned to the side and looked behind me. "I will see you at your wedding." With those parting words He shuffled off toward the school. It was only then that I turned around and saw who it was behind me.

"Dad? You're here…"

"I was very pleased when Kotomi-chan said that you would like me to be here today."

"I didn't… think that you would be able come, what with the short notice and work and all." I felt Kotomi tense up and what I was about to do, so did my best to cover my mistake.

"Oh, my boss was very happy to give me the day off when I told him what it was for."

"Kotomi and I were about to go for lunch, would you like to join us?" Dad was surprised but recovered quickly.

"That would be lovely, thank you Tomoya, it would be nice to get to know my future daughter-in-law a little better." I had expected Kotomi to be blushing because of the daughter-in-law comment but she was simply smiling at me.

We went to a local restaurant and had a pleasant enough meal. I don't think Dad and I will ever be truly close, there's been too much water under the bridge, but we can at least we can be civil, and I'll make an effort to be a good son, mainly because it means so much to Kotomi. Once we parted ways, Kotomi stopped walking.

"Kotomi, is something wrong?"

"Tomoya-kun, are you angry at me?"

"Angry? No. Why would I be angry?" Kotomi looked a little confused.

"But I told your father that you wanted him to be at your graduation?"

"That's okay Angel, I understand why you did it, you had my best interests at heart didn't you?" Kotomi nodded vigorously, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "So, I don't have anything to be angry about do I. Honestly I would probably have regretted it in later life if he hadn't been there." The worry and tension melted away as Kotomi's smile returned to her face.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." I drew her in to my arms and she snuggled herself into her favourite spot against my chest.

"You're so good to me Tomoya."

"That goes both ways don't you think? Come on let's go home." Kotomi reluctantly pulled out of my arms.

"Okay, we have yet to finish the seating plan for the reception and it needs to be completed by Tuesday." She slipped her hand in to mine and inter-twined our fingers.

"Huh… When did I start thinking of your place as home?" Kotomi smiled up at me, her eye's sparkling excitedly.

"Really? You do?"

"Yeah, I guess home really is where the heart is." Kotomi abandoned hand holding, electing to coil her arms around my bicep instead. "Are you sure you okay with us moving into your parent's old bedroom? There are other room we could use if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, it is okay, I have spoken with Doctor Lee about it a number of times, he feels it would be good for me if we did. It will help me move forward and as he said, 'Put some ghosts to rest' but there has been no scientific proof of existence of ghosts, so I am unsure what he means."

"It's just a common phrase, he means that it will help deal with some bad memories and negative associations, so you can start making new happier memories." Kotomi's face suddenly turned bright red. "What? Did I say something weird?"

"N-n-no i-it is n-nothing."

'What on earth is she thinking of? The bedroom? Did she just… nah, there's no way Kotomi would… would she?' Kotomi was still blushing by the time we got back to her house, she would keep glancing at me, but then looking away when I looked her way.

'It's almost like how she was before… we… first… kissed… Oh boy. She is isn't she.' Kotomi did eventually calm down once we got stuck into the seating plan.

Two day before the wedding we were, cuddled up on the sofa watching TV when Kotomi turned off the Tv and shifted position so she could look me in the eye.

"T-Tomoya, do you want children?"

"I've been thinking about that a fair bit myself lately, I don't know if I'd want to start a family right away, preferably I'd be settled into a teaching job first, but yeah I would like a couple of kids, what about you?"

"Yes, I would very much like some children."

"Are you happy to wait for me to be in work first, it'd be a couple of years you know?"

"Oh, yes, I had thought it best to wait a while first too. We are still quite young after all."

"Well, it's a relief we are both thinking the same way. Had you thought how many you would like?"

"I believe it would be wonderful if we could have two, then they could play together in the back garden in the summer, and in the winter, they will build snow men together, and we could go on picnics in the park. You will spoil them and shower them with love. And, and we will be a very happy family." Kotomi was looking off into the middle distance smiling as she fiddled with the buttons on my shirt.

"So, you haven't given it much thought then." Kotomi giggled and hit my chest playfully. "Yeah I think two would be nice, I always wanted a little sister."

"That is because you like to protect people."

"You think so?"

"Yes, you always do your best to help your friends, and make them feel better when they are sad. I think you will be wonderful father. But I worry if I will be able to be a very good mother, I am still not very good at dealing with other people's emotions."

"Hey, you're better at reading people than you think. It's clear as day to anyone that care very deeply about your friends, and you can read me like a book. So, don't be so down on yourself. You'll be a great mommy, okay?" Kotomi just nodded and buried her face in my shoulder. Her emotions got the better of her and she wept quietly as I stroked her hair. She must have been really worried about being a good mother.

The morning of the wedding finally rolled around, and I was nervous, _really_ nervous. I adjusted my tie for the fifth time.

"Tomoya, we need to get going or you'll be late."

"Yeah, thanks Dad."

"You okay son?"

"Yeah… why?"

"You look like you're going pass out or throw up, or both."

"I'll be fine, I'm just kinda nervous."

"Nervous? Really, I would never have guessed." Dad chuckled to himself. "Do you have everything?"

"I think so, crap, where did I put the ring?" Panic set in as I ransacked my remaining possessions.

"Tomoya."

"What?"

"Top left pocket."

"Huh? Oh, right… thanks." Dad put his hands on my shoulders.

"Tomoya, calm down. You'll do fine."

"I be okay, thanks. I just don't want to mess this up for Kotomi, it means so much to her."

"She won't care, so long as you're there." I stared a him dumbfounded. "I've seen the way she looks at you son. Now come on let's make a move."

"Yeah…"

Standing at the front of a remarkably full church, my heart was going a mile a minute already. I was beginning to regret my decision the go without a best man. The quiet chatter that had filled the air suddenly stopped. And in walked the three bride's maids, and my heart kicked into high gear.

The wedding march began, and a vision of pure beauty stepped in to view. Kotomi as couldn't have looked more like an angel without wings. She was wearing a pure white gown that hugged her curves perfectly, it was accented with pale blue gem stones that looked drifting clouds of star-dust. the veil obscured most of her face, but the shine of her eyes was unmistakable.

As she approached the front of the church, I had to remind myself to breathe. Guided by her Godfather Kotomi stopped just short me.

"Who gives this woman?" The ministers voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"I give this woman." Koumura-sama passed her hand to me and, placing his hand on Kotomi's back and guided the last few steps to my side. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "She's all yours." All I could manage was a nod.

"Meet here today to bear witness to the joining of these two hearts in holy matrimony, they have chosen to write their own vows." That was Kotomi's cue, she had been quite adamant that she went first. She produced a folded and slightly dog-eared piece of paper, she was trembling so much, I was surprised that she could read it.

"As childhood friends in my garden you were already helping me face my fears, since we reunited in the library that afternoon, you have helped me conquer them. You have given me friends and freedom from my fears, you have helped me heal after the loss of my parents, and given me happiness and hope for the future, but most of all you have given me love. I would have none of this if not for you. I love you and wish for nothing but to spend the rest of my life by your side." The entire church was either choked up or crying by the time she finished. Including the minister.

"Okazaki-san, when you're ready." The minister croaked slightly as he tried to clear the lump from his throat. I drew my script from my pocket and cleared my throat.

"Kotomi, when I found you in the library, I was an angry, bitter and lost teenager, without a future to call my own. You guided me, and supported me as I corrected my past mistakes, You gave me hope when I had none, through persistence, logic and love, you gave me back the relationship with my father, that I thought lost for ever, I had lost my dreams for the future, but you gave me new dreams. You took the fragments of a broken young boy, and reformed them, into a man I can be proud to be, and I hope I can become the man you deserve. I want for nothing more than to have you by my side as my wife."

The minister coughed a couple of times, trying to clear his throat.

"If anyone knows of any reason why these two may not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." The only sound that could be heard, was the occasional sniffle from an emotional member of the congregation.

"Do you Okazaki Tomoya take this woman Ichinose Kotomi to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward, until death do you part?"

"I do." As gave my answer I slipped the ring on to the finger, between Kotomi's trembling hands and my own, it took a couple of tries.

"Do you Ichinose Kotomi, take this man Okazaki Tomoya to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward, until death do you part?"

"I do." Kotomi had similar problem put the ring on my finger.

"You have pledged yourselves to one another before God and these witnesses assembled here, renew this pledge daily, love one another, cherish one another, and may all those assembled her hold you to account, should you fail to keep these vows."

"By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." I lifted Kotomi's veil, revealing her beautiful violet eyes, red rimmed and tear filled, but happy. I cupped my hands around her face and wiped away her tears. Then leaned forward and kissed my wife.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for, Okazaki Tomoya and Okazaki Kotomi." The congregation rose to their feet and applauded as we kissed. It seemed a little odd really, usually we were being told to knock it off.

'Okazaki Kotomi… I like the sound of that.'


	5. Chapter 5 – Happy ever after?

**Chapter 5 – Happy ever after?**

The reception was more energetic than I had imagined it would be, Sunohara was on the dance floor making a fool of himself. All of our friends we with us chatting and laughing, Fujibayashi surprised me by introducing her boyfriend, Keppei or something like that, he had been a patient she had help at the hospital and they hit it off apparently. He seemed like a nice enough guy. My Dad was another surprise, I had been a little concerned about his drinking, but I never once saw him with anything stronger than fruit juice, he spent quite some time chatting with the Koumura's, although none of them would tell me what they were talking about.

Time drifted by but Kotomi never once let go of my hand, I did tell her that I didn't mind if she wanted to mingle for a bit.

"No, thank you Tomoya, I am not ready to let go of my… husband, just yet." She informed our little group. Much to Kyou's chagrin, she rolled eyes and pretended to be about be sick.

"Geeze, they're getting worse." The rest of the group laughed as Kotomi and I blushed a little. For me the funniest point of the evening was when Kotomi threw the bouquet, Fujibayashi was the one to catch it. She turned bright red and her boyfriend turned white.

"Well then Okazaki-chan, shall we head home?" Kotomi giggled at the use of her new name. The limo whisked us away to my new home, _Our _home.

Kotomi looked a little confused when I stopped her at the door.

"Be patient, Okazaki-chan. There is tradition to consider." She was a little startled as I picked her up, but fell into uncontrollable giggles as I tried to get through the door way with her in my arms. But she did quiet down as I led her up the stairs. We had redecorated the master bedroom, but it still felt a little odd going in there.

Kotomi hesitated at the door way, a little red-faced.

"It's okay if you're not ready yet, there's no rush."

"No, I am just a little nervous." She took a deep breath, and stepped in to _our_ room.

Kotomi carefully removed her veil and necklace placing them reverently on the top of the desk. I removed my tie and jacket, hanging the up ready to be returned to the rental shop.

"Tomoya-kun, would you help me with m-my dress? I cannot reach the zip."

"O-o-of course." I had to fight to steady my hands so could even grip the zipper.

"Thank you." Sounding remarkably calm all of a sudden Kotomi shrugged the straps off her shoulders, allowing her gown to slip down and form a white ring around her feet. I froze at the sight before me. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she carefully folded her gown into its storage box.

Kotomi turned around and faced me. She was wearing a stunning set of white lace underwear. I couldn't quite decide where I should look.

"Kyou said that I should wear something like this, do you like it?"

'I must remember to thank Kyou later.'

"You look amazing." She smiled bashfully, and slowly walk over to me. She gently placed her hands on my chest. Rising up onto her tip toes she kissed me lightly on the lips, then she began to unbutton my shirt. As she slipped my shirt off there was a gleam in her eyes I hadn't seen before. Then she went to work on the rest of my clothes.

'What happened to my shy, coy Kotomi?' It occurred to me that I should really have seen it coming, she can be quite passionate when the mood takes her, the ambush kissing for example.

Kotomi, having completed her work pushed me backwards to the bed and then removed the last of her own clothes before climbing into bed next to me.

I awoke in the morning with a familiar and comforting weight on my chest, Kotomi was still fast asleep, snuggled into my side with her head on the right side of my chest. She looked so peaceful; I couldn't bring myself to wake her up.

I spent a while just enjoying being close to her, as she smiled contentedly in her sleep. Sadly, it wasn't long before she stirred, she yawned and stretched her arms.

"Good morning Angel, did you sleep well?" She smiled, with a twinkle in her eye she moved up and planted a mind-blowing kiss on me.

"Yes, I did thank you." Kotomi settled back into her spot on my chest. "Tomoya, do you mind if we stay here for a little longer?"

"I don't mind, are you still sleepy?"

"No, I am quite well rested thank you." She gave me an impish smile and winked.

"Oh, I see what you mean, sounds like a lovely to spend our first morning together."

We had decided to forego a conventional honeymoon for the time being, after all we'd have enough to adjust to as it was, I still had to move the remainder of my personal items from my Dad's place. There was also the issue that Kotomi had been living alone for the last ten years, so it could be difficult for her to get used to having someone else around the house all the time. So, we were just going to have some time at home together.

The following afternoon, we decided to head out to town to do a little shopping, Kotomi wanted to visit the book store for one thing, no big surprise there. There were a few other odds and ends but nothing big so we could go for a meal once we were done shopping. While we were wandering between shops we ran in to some friends.

"Ah, Ryou-chan, Kyou-chan it is good to see you." Kotomi was still hanging off my arm as she greeted her friends.

"Oh, hello you two, you managed to persuade yourselves to get out of bed for a while then?" Kyou, it was clear she was expecting to embarrass Kotomi, the mischievous smile on her face.

"Onee-chan!" Fujibayashi was the only one that was actually embarrassed.

"Yes, thank you Kyou-chan, but only for a little while." Kotomi gave her retort with floorless timing, a big smile and not even the slightest hint of blushing. It's fair to say I was extremely proud of her at that moment. It had it's intended effect, that of silent, stunned and red faced Kyou. She stood there agape until the three of us broke down laughing.

"Come on Kyou, even you have to admit, you had that one coming."

"You know, I think we trained her a little too well."

"Oh, I don't know, I'm feeling a little proud right now."

"Thank you Tomoya." Kotomi gave her traditional bash full smile.

"Seriously? That makes you blush? And the bedroom thing gets nothing." Kyou's frustration made both me and Fujibayashi chuckle.

"Kyou-chan, we are married now, so I don't think there is anything to be embarrassed about. Wouldn't be stranger if we didn't?"

"Aaaanyway, we were just about head to the book store before going for dinner, would you two like to join us?" I needed to get Kotomi off this line of thought before she started trying to discuss details.

"Are you sure? I'm a little surprised you'd want company; you know being newlyweds and all."

"Kyou-chan, we have as much time as we want together, but now that we're not in school together, we won't be able to spend so much time together."

"There's no arguing with her logic is there, Tomoya."

"Sometimes, but not often."

"Alright then, I need to get some more teaching books anyway."

"Yeah I need a bunch of books too."

"Oh, Tomoya we can read together again." Kotomi gazed at me with stars in her eye's

"It really odd how excited she is to do that you know. I would have thought she'd have the all lined up in alphabetical order for you by now."

"We used to read together as kids, and the reading list only came last week, so we were a little preoccupied for some reason."

Once we arrived at the book store Kotomi and Fujibayashi headed off towards the cook books, while Kyou and I headed to find our textbooks.

"I'm impressed she managed to peel herself off your arm."

"What's up Kyou? Not getting a little jealous, are you?"

"Yeah, maybe a little."

"Oh… I didn't expect you to admit that."

"Well, my experience trying to get into teaching school was a bit of an eye opener. If I had been honest about my feelings in the first place, I would never have had those warnings on my school record. While I have you too myself. Thank you."

"You've lost me there Kyou."

"On which bit?"

"Most of it frankly."

"*sigh* You always were blind to us girls until Kotomi came along weren't you."

"That has been pointed out to me yes."

"Okay then, easy one first then, thank you for helping me get into teaching school."

"But that was Kotomi that got Koumura-sama to intervene."

"But she only did that because you asked her to, correct?"

"How did you…"

"Kotomi told me." Of course, she did. "When I went to thank her, she got all flustered and said she couldn't take credit for what you asked her to do."

"Yeah, that sounds like her alright."

"Why did you help me?"

"For one thing you're my friend, and I couldn't stand by and see your past mistakes ruin your future, when I had escaped my own mistakes."

"You're a sentimental sod, do you know that?"

"Kotomi said something similar yes. Anyway, what did you mean about being honest about your feelings?"

"You know I was in love with you don't you."

"Yeah, I kind of figured it out while I was studying for my resits."

"Just after you got engaged, yeah, you two were getting all lovey-dovey about then, so it was a little difficult to hide my discomfort."

"I really sorry if we hurt you, it was never my intention."

"You don't need apologise, you're in love with her and she can be quite affectionate." I had to chuckle at Kyou's observation. "What, you almost definitely don't know is that Ryou and I had both had the hots for you since the second year."

"Y-yeah, you've got me there."

"The thing was Ryou came to me for advice, saying that she was in love with you. So being the good 'Onee-chan' I decided I had to set aside my own feelings and help Ryou and you get together."

"I see, so the bento boxes and dragging me around shopping was all aimed at getting me and your sister together."

"Right."

"And the book throwing, and aggression was to what? Hide your feelings?"

"Nail on the head there Tomoya."

"you weren't kidding about me being blind were you."

"No, but Kotomi seems to have cured you of that, hasn't she? You don't need to worry about me by the way. I may get the occasional twinge, when I see the two of you getting all loved up, but I am happy that you two are so happy."

"Thanks, Kyou, I appreciate it. Oh, by the way, is it safe for your sister to be handling cookbooks?"

"Come on be nice, she tries really hard you know."

"Yeah, I know, I've seen the plasters."

"She's getting a lot better as it happens."

"Really? That's good to know. What triggered the change?"

"The new boyfriend I think."

"Is he teaching her to cook or something?"

"No, I think it had more to do with you to be frank."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're a really manly man, so I think that intimidated her a bit."

"Because… I'm… manly?"

"Yeah, hasn't Kotomi said anything like that?"

"She says I'm very protective, quite a bit, but I don't recall her ever saying manly."

"Hmm, I may have to have words with your wife."

"Never mind that- "

"There's that protective thing."

"*sigh* Thank you Kyou, but can get back to what you were saying about your sisters cooking? So, does he not intimidate her so much?"

"He couldn't intimidate a five-year-old, seriously the first time she introduced him I thought she was telling me she was gay." My laughter drew more than a few disapproving looks. Seriously it's not a library, am I going to disturb the books?

"So not what you'd call butch then."

"No, not even a little bit. But he's a nice guy."

"Good, Oh, hello Fujibayashi, were your ears burning?"

"N-no, w-why?"

"Tomoya, would you please not tease my sister."

"I tell you what, you stop teasing my wife and I'll stop teasing your sister."

"Hmm, sorry Ryou, you'll just have to put up with it." Again, we got the disapproving looks.

"I thought that was you Tomoya, have you found all of your books yet."

"Not yet angel, we were too busy chatting. You can help us find them if you've got all you wanted already."

It turns out the assembled list of Kotomi's book choices made for some slightly embarrassing insinuations,

50 Breakfasts for lovers

101 romantic meals

Eat, Drink, Love

And to cap it all off, Foods to boost your energy.

Kyou was in hysterics most of the way to the restaurant, Fujibayashi didn't get what was funny, that added further fuel to Kyou's laughter. Kotomi did get the association but didn't see why it was funny.

We had a couple of blissful weeks like this, we'd occasionally meet up with friends, relax in the garden, read together, cook together. It was the happiest I could ever remember being, but all good things come to an end eventually. All too soon it came time for Kotomi to start work at the lab.

Since I wasn't starting training just yet, got up early and made breakfast for us and I would pack her a bento box, to take with her. She was a little conflicted to begin with, she really didn't want our idyllic little life to change. I had to take her to work in the morning for a couple of days, it made me think of taking a child to school, Leaving her at the gate with a lunch box in her hand.

Things soon settled down once she got comfortable and began to enjoy her work. Once it came time for me to begin my training Kotomi took a few hours off work so that she could walk to collage with me, she had declared that it was only fair as I got to walk her to work for her first day, so she wanted her turn. I had expected her to do that, but not her reasons for doing it. In hind sight I had wanted to take her to work as much for my own reasons as it was for her.

What I hadn't expected was that I would earn myself a nickname, before the end of my first week.

It all started as we were all packing away our books away at the end of the day. One of the guys sitting by the window shouted and waved us over to see something.

"Check it out, there's a smokin' hot chick standing by the gate." That was enough for almost all of the guys in the class to head for the windows.

"Hey, Okazaki, check it out."

"Fine, fine I'm coming." What I saw was an attractive young woman wearing a suit that fitted in all the right places, it was "Kotomi?!"

"What? You know her?" All eyes were all on me in a heartbeat.

"Err yeah."

"Who is she?" Ask most of the guys all at once.

"She's umm, my wife." Silence. "Anyway, as you can see, I have to get going. See you guys tomorrow." I could almost feel them watch me leave. Added to that once I got in range Kotomi shouted my name, ran over to me (quite the achievement in high heels) She then proceeded to attach herself to my face. By the time she let go, everyone within 50-feet was staring at us. Oblivious to this fact Kotomi gleefully wound herself around my bicep and set off home chattering away contentedly.

As it transpired if Kotomi left work exactly on time she could make it to a bus stop and get to my college in time for the end of my classes. We were going to need some ground rules.

"Kotomi, it was very nice of you to come and meet me, and I will be very glad to have you do so whenever you want. But you may need to… how should I put it? Restrain your enthusiasm a little." She gave me a sorrowful look that almost broke my heart.

"Did you not want-"

"Hang on, that's not what I said, is it angel?"

"But…"

"Look, do you remember back in the theatre club, the others asked if we could show a little restraint, because it made them a little uncomfortable?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"And do you remember how I didn't really want to?"

"Yes."

"It's the same thing here. I know you were really happy to see me, so you didn't notice, but everyone around us was uncomfortable. So, we will have to wait until we get home, okay? Then we can kiss and cuddle all you like okay?"

"Okay, can, can we not kiss at all when I see you?" Oh crap, she was using the puppy dog eyes again.

"One of these days I will have to work out how to say no, but I think a little kiss will be fine." A big smile lit up her face.

"Okay." By the time I reached the class room the following day I had learned of my new nick name, 'Lucky'

Time dripped by much the same way, Kotomi came to meet me every day, she did manage some restraint… most of the time anyway. I made new friends in my class, they had asked why we got married so young when she wasn't even pregnant, they stopped asking once we had all been out for dinner.

Before too long I came time for me to go for a placement at a local kindergarten, I was honestly terrified, what if they didn't like me, or wouldn't listen or any number of other nightmare situations. Thankfully it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had suspected, by the end of the day, I was exhausted but happy. And surprise, surprise Kotomi was waiting for me at the gate. How she had managed it was another thing entirely, especially as I had not told her where I would be working.

Yet more time slipped by, I had been really lucky to be going to the same school for all my class room training sessions. A few of the others had been forced to go to more than one school because of a lack of spaces. Three months had passed since my first placement, and I was talking to Kotomi at the gate, when one of the girls from my class came over and tugged on my trouser leg.

"Yes Kotori-chan, did you want to speak to me?" She was one of the quieter children I work with, but she had really taken to me, she was just barely as tall as my knee, so the sight of her gripping on to my trouser leg was unbelievably adorable.

"Mommy isn't here yet, can I wait with you Oki-sensei" Okazaki was a bit of a mouthful for some of the younger students so once one of them called me Oki-sensei the rest just did the same.

"Of course, you can sweetheart." Kotomi looked like she had just seen the cutest thing on the entire planet, just noticing Kotomi for the first time, little Kotori hid behind my leg.

"Who is that lady?" Kotori whispered from behind me.

"Kotori-chan, this is Kotomi-chan, she is my wife." Kotori peeked out from behind my leg.

"Hello, my name is Kotomi, call me Kotomi-chan, would you please be my friend?" Now that felt nostalgic. Kotori peered up at me, looking for confirmation.

"It's okay, go ahead." Kotori stepped out from behind my leg, gave a polite bow, without letting go of my trouser leg.

"My name is Habane Kotori, it is nice to meet you."

"Well done Kotori-chan, I am very impressed." She beamed up at me, "We have been learning about manners today, haven't we Kotori-chan?" Kotori nodded vigorously.

"Hello Okazaki-sensei, I thought I would find Kotori with you."

"Ah, Habane-san, the traffic was a little heavy again was it?"

"I'm afraid it was, the new road works a real pain. Thank you for taking care of Kotori for me."

"Oh, it was our pleasure."

"You've been making new friends have you Kotori."

"She is Kotomi-chan, Oki-sensei says she is his wife."

"Is that so, it's nice to meet you, Okazaki-san." Kotomi bowed lightly.

"Thank you, you have a very polite daughter, she gave me a very good introduction."

"Oki-sensei, told us about manners today."

"Really? And what did you learn." Kotori took a few steps away from her mother and performed her introduction for her mother. "That's really good Sweetie." Habane-san hug her daughter pride written all over her face. We chatted briefly about how Kotori was doing in class, then parted ways.

"So, how was it at the lab today?"

"It was good, I believe we are making good progress. Hibari-chan asked if we would like to go to dinner with her and the women from the lab."

"A girl's night out is it?"

"No, they stated that they wanted to meet the man that managed to get me away from my desk so easily." I couldn't help but laugh, I knew how absorbed Kotomi could get into her work, and it seems her colleagues had noticed the disparity between that and how promptly she liked to leave work at the end of the day.

"Seems only fair since you've already met some of my class mates."

"Okay, I will make the arrangements. Kotori-chan seemed quite attached to you."

"Yeah, she's a sweet kid, but she can be really shy at times, I'm not sure why she latched on to me so quickly."

"does she have many friends?"

"she does have a couple now yes, why?"

"Did she not have many before?"

"Well not really, like I said she can be really shy, why do you ask?"

"And did you introduce her to these new friends?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure I see where you're going with this."

"She trusts you because you have helped her, just like you helped me."

"I hadn't thought of it like that. You're not getting jealous, are you?" I couldn't resist the joke; it was just too easy.

"Maybe a little."

"What?" I didn't see that one coming.

"Of her mother that is, she's such an adorable little girl. And I couldn't help but think you looked very… fatherly." Perhaps having children will come sooner than expected.

The following week we had our regular catch up with the rest of the theatre club. Furukawa was doing fine; her mother had been able to expand her study school now that she didn't have to help in the bakery so much. This had the happy side effect of almost eliminating the weird and inedible creations. Fujibayashi was enjoying her nursing training although it had taken her a while to bet used to how hectic it was. I was comparing notes with Kyou on our teacher training, Kyou was finding the academic side of things a little difficult at times but she was really enjoying the on-site training, she was telling us quite proudly how well she was getting on with the children. It was at that point Kotomi eagerly shared how well I was doing with the children too. And then she dropped the Oki-sensei bomb shell.

Both Furukawa and Fujibayashi thought it was adorable, Kyou however, she was laughing so hard the restaurant manager came over to ask her to keep it down. I was just glad she hadn't found out about my nickname at college.

The following months passed by largely uneventfully, Furukawa was sick again for a while but recovered well. Fujibayashi and her boyfriend were doing well. Kotomi continued to meet me after my classes every day. Little Kotori was very upset when she had to move up a year and couldn't take her Oki-sensei with her. Even after she moved class, she would come and wait with me when her mother was running late.

I soon reached the point where I was about to graduate from my teacher training and have to find a real job. I had been agonising over some job listings during my lunch break trying to decide where was practical to go to, (most of them would require me to travel a lot further.) When the head teacher of my training school called me into his office. They weren't advertising a position so it never crossed my mind that I could stay where I was. But that is exactly what the head wanted to offer me, apparently the reason they weren't advertising a position was, they wanted to offer it to me before they went to the trouble of interviewing lots of applicants. Obviously, I was over joyed and accepted immediately. The following term I would have my very own class, at the school that already felt like home. To top it all off they agreed that I could continue to study toward a bachelor's degree as part of my in-service education.

It was probably a mistake to tell Kotomi when I met her at the gate, but I couldn't contain my excitement. Kotomi's reaction drew more than a few wry smiles from the Mothers waiting at the gate their children, it was the arrival of Kotori that got Kotomi to detach herself from my chest. Kotori was equally excited when we told her I would be staying. So, I was left with a number of laughing mothers taking pictures on their phones, while I had Kotomi wrapped around one arm and Kotori clinging on to my leg.

Kyou was also fortunate in finding a job, it was the third school she interviewed with that took her on, and it would cut her commute in half.

Fujibayashi and her boyfriend got engaged, he'd had a hard fight with cancer in the year and although he was now clear.

Once the new term began it took me a day or two to find my feet a little, it was classroom full of new students and I didn't have another teacher in the room as back up anymore. But I soon settled in, and somehow, I had retained my Oki-sensei moniker, not that I really minded.

I loved my job but I was glad of the rest when the first school holidays came around, Kotomi took some time off work at the same time so we could some quiet time alone together for a change, it had felt a little like we had either been working or studying since that first day I walked Kotomi to work.

A couple of days into our break, I decided I would treat Kotomi to breakfast in bed. But she only had one bite of her toast, before she ran out of the room toward the bathroom.

I found her leaning over the toilet throwing up. I poured her a glass of water and stroked her back until she was done.

"You okay angel?" I put my hand on her forehead as she gulped down the water, I gave her. "Hmm, you don't have a fever. How do you feel?"

"I am okay, thank you, Tomoya, I just suddenly let sick."

"It's probably just a tummy bug, get some rest and I'll make you some tea." Kotomi nodded and headed back to bed.

By midday Kotomi was feeling much better, so I just figured it was just an anomaly. At least until the following morning that is.

By lunch time we were both staring intently at a white plastic stick, while I occasionally checked my watch.

"Come on, seriously, how long is thing supposed to take anyway." Kotomi smiled at my impatience.

"Just one more minute, Tomoya."

"Couldn't you invent a faster one or something? The waiting is killing me here."

"Hmm I may look into that." Kotomi pondered. "But I suspect it wouldn't ready before this one is done." I shrugged and returned to glaring at a white plastic stick.


	6. Chapter 6 – Beginnings and Endings

**Chapter 6 – Beginnings and Endings**

Two little blue lines slowly appeared in the window of the plastic stick.

"It… it's… positive…" We both stared at test strip wide eyed, trying to process the information. "I'm going to be a dad." I still couldn't quite believe it.

"We're having a baby!" Kotomi apparently wasn't having the same problem. She launched herself at me throwing her arms around my neck, unfortunately her momentum was enough to push me backwards off the stool I was sitting on, and we landed on the floor with a thud. Thankfully Kotomi landed on something soft, namely me. However, I was not quite so fortunate. Five minutes later I was pressing an ice pack to the back of my head.

"I am very sorry Tomoya, I got over excited."

"I'm fine angel, I suppose we'd better make a doctor's appointment, hadn't we?"

"Oh! Does your head still hurt? Should I call an ambulance?!" Kotomi shot to her feet and attempted to remove the ice pack and inspect my head.

"Kotomi, calm down. I meant for you." She gave me a confused look.

"For me? What for?"

"Kotomi, don't you think it would be a good idea to get a proper pregnancy test done?"

"Oh! Oh, yes you are correct, sorry, I am a little flustered."

"No kidding."

'Good lord, if she's like this now, what's going to be like when the hormones really kick in?'

We managed to get an appointment for the following morning. We sat in the waiting room eagerly awaiting the results of the test.

"Calm down Kotomi, the home tests are really accurate these days, so this is just a formality, Okay?"

"I know, I am just very excited."

"So am I angel. Would you like to go and see Sanae-san once we're done here?"

"Sanae-san? What for?"

"Well, neither one of us has a mother to turn to, and Sanae-san and Akio-sama have always been so supportive, especially of you. Plus, we can tell Furukawa while we're there."

"Yes, that is a wonderful idea, do you really think Sanae-san wouldn't mind?"

"I think she'd love to help you, with the way Furukawa's health is, I don't know if she'd be able to carry a baby to term without extreme risk to her life." Kotomi fidgeted with the paper work on her lap and looked down, a tinge of sadness on her face.

"Yes, I had thought the same thing of Nagisa-chan's health. Are you sure it wouldn't upset her to see her mother help me?"

"Honestly I doubt it has crossed her mind, if she had a boyfriend then maybe it would, but Akio-sama isn't going to let a guy anywhere near her any time soon." Kotomi giggled quietly, finally looking up again.

"Yes, Akio-sama is quite protective isn't he."

"Yeah, the first time I met him he stood there glaring at me with his baseball bat over his shoulder for like ten minutes. And I was already dating you at the time, can you imagine what he'd do if a single guy showed up looking for her?" Kotomi giggled at the thought. Any further conversation came to a stop as a smiling doctor walked towards us holding the test results.

An hour later we were walking out of the door with a stack of paperwork and goofy grins on our faces.

"I'll just give them a quick call to check they're in." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled the bakery.

"Furukawa bakery, what do you want?" Akio-sama's customarily gruff greeting was somehow comfortable and reassuring. "Hey Akio-sama, it's Tomoya, is Sanae-san around?"

"Oh, hey kid, yeah she's around here somewhere, what's up?"

"Kotomi wanted to talk to her, is it okay if we drop round?"

"Sure thing, you two are always welcome, you know that."

"Yeah, I know, but you know me, I don't like to make assumptions. See you in about ten minutes."

"Alright kid, I'll get Sanae to put some tea on."

"Thanks."

When we arrived all three Furukawa's were waiting for us by the front door. We all sat around the table in their lounge, drinking tea, as we filled them in. Sanae-san was ecstatic and was a little teary eyed when Kotomi asked if she mind if she came her if she needed help or advice. Akio-sama, just clapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Good for you kid.'

Furukawa on the other hand, she said congratulations and that she happy for us, but her smile seemed a little fragile or forced. Sanae-san and Kotomi chattered away for a bit.

Sanae-san told Kotomi to stick to dry toast in the mornings and gave her a box of ginger tea that she said would help with the morning sickness. Furukawa had stayed quite subdued for the majority of our visit but managed to give Kotomi a genuinely happy congratulations and a hug.

Sanae-san's toast and ginger tea regime seemed to help and Kotomi was able to nibble her way through a slice of toast in the morning. We managed to pin the twins down for long enough to have them round for dinner so we could share our happy news.

"Kotomi-chan! Congratulations! I am so happy for you." Ryou was over the moon, immediately threw her arms around Kotomi, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oi, I'm here too you know."

"Oh, of course Okazaki-kun, congratulations." She let go of Kotomi long enough to give me a brief hug too.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tomoya?"

"I'm sorry, old habits are hard to change."

"Tomoya, stop teasing my sister will you."

"But haven't given up teasing Kotomi yet though have you."

"I might have to now, somehow it wouldn't feel right to tease a pregnant woman." Kotomi smile coyly. "Congratulations you two."

"Thanks, Kyou." Ryou and Kotomi chattered away excitedly.

"The morning sickness isn't too bad, Sanae-san gave me some tea that help. But Tomoya won't stop fussing over me, he won't even let me get something off the top shelf in the kitchen."

"You'll just have to get used to that I think." Kotomi gave Kyou a quizzical look. "remember how protective of you he was in school?"

"Yes, I do but…"

"Now think about it like this, if he was that protective of you then, it's not surprising he'd be even more protective of you now because you're carrying his baby. You're his two most precious things in the world all bundled into one."

"I hadn't thought about it like that." Kotomi paused for a moment, then threw her arms around me, tears streaming down her face. "I am sorry Tomoya." She buried her face in my chest and cried while I stroked her hair. Kyou looked a little upset herself.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean." Kyou gently stroked her back to try to comfort her, before looking at me. "D-did I say too much?"

"Kyou, she's pregnant."

"I know, but…"

"Her hormones are having a field day right now. Yesterday she started crying when an ad for baby powder came on the TV."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So, I didn't…"

"It's fine Kyou. Isn't it, angel?" Kotomi emerged from my chest and sniffled.

"I am sorry Kyou-chan, I am not in control of emotions at the moment." With that Kotomi threw her arms around Kyou. All Kyou could do was pat Kotomi on the back, while she cried. Ryou and I couldn't help but laugh at the startled expression on Kyou's face.

Kotomi's first trimester continued much the same, throwing up in the morning and crying at the drop of a hat. Kotomi gave me framed picture from her first ultrasound to put on my desk. We ended up spending a lot of time at the bakery. So, to save confusion I was told I should call Furukawa, Negisa, instead. I wasn't completely comfortable with it, Negisa was a little too attentive to me when I was there. It reminded me of how she reacted when Kotomi and I got engaged, and the expression on her face when she learned that Kotomi was expecting a baby.

That aside, Kotomi was extremely pleased to be pregnant, even more so when it started to show, she did complain a bit when she discovered she couldn't fit into her favourite dress. But she was proud to show off her baby bump and spent a lot of time with her hands placed on her tummy. To me, she was the very avatar of womanhood.

Week 15 and we were relaxing in the back garden when Kotomi suddenly gasped.

"Tomoya, I felt her move!"

"Really, it's a little early isn't it?" I placed my hand on her tummy hoping to feel for myself.

"I am certain I did, Oh! There, she moved again did you feel it?"

"I did, wow. Wait she, have they told you what we're having?"

"No, they can't quite see on the scans."

"So, what makes you think it's a girl?"

"I just know. It feels right when I think of our baby as a girl."

"Okay if you say so, I won't argue, just don't be disappointed if you turn out to be wrong. Okay?"

"I really don't mind, I'm just excited to meet our baby, and I don't like say 'it' all the time."

"Okay, I don't really like to call our baby 'it' either. Have you had any ideas about names yet?"

"I had thought about my mom or dad's names, but I'm not sure. Have you had any ideas?"

"Funnily enough I had the same idea. We still have plenty of time to decide." A flurry of excited text messages too and from the twins followed. Ryou was especially excited, her own wedding was approaching, and she was already getting broody. What did surprise me was that we didn't hear anything at all from, Negisa.

I spoke to Sanae-san the following day, the reason Negisa didn't answer was not really unexpected, she was sick in bed again, and sleeping much of the time. We visited Negisa often and she had the chance to feel the baby move eventually, but she was too ill to be able to get too excited about it.

Another month passed; the pregnancy passed the halfway mark. Negisa was still sick, if anything she was getting weaker and weaker. Sanae-san was putting on a brave face but knowing her as well as we do, we could tell how worried she was, Akio-sama wasn't as adept at hiding his feelings, especially when it came to Negisa. Kotomi visited everyday on the way home from work, the twins visited as often as they could too.

Friday evening, as we approached the bakery my stomach lurched as we saw an ambulance outside the bakery.

Akio-sama and Sanae-san were standing by the back door of the ambulance. Sanae was clinging to Akio's shirt, crying uncontrollably, that was bad enough but the hollow look in Akio's eyes was heart breaking.

"What happened?" I asked as I ran to their side.

"She, wouldn't wake up, so we called for the ambulance, but while we were waiting for it, she stopped breathing." Akio's voice was almost as hollow as his eyes.

Kotomi was already in tears as she gripped my sleeve. We waited for what felt like an eternity while the ambulance crew worked. The door opened.

"She's breathing on her own for now, but we need to go now."

"Akio, give me your keys."

"What?" He didn't seem to register what I said.

"Give me your keys, I'll lock up here and meet you at the hospital. Get going, your girls need you."

"Yeah, thanks kid." He passed me a bunch of keys and they climbed into the Ambulance, it drove off with lights and sirens blaring.

"Kotomi, call us a taxi, I'll get everything shut down and locked up." Kotomi simply nodded and pulled her phone from her bag. We finished locking up and stood outside waiting for the taxi.

"Tomoya, will she be okay?" Kotomi's voice was hoarse and tears streamed down her face.

"I don't know angel; I wish I could tell you she will be fine but… she's so weak. Where is that damn taxi?" by the time we made it to the hospital Akio and Sanae were waiting out side of the emergency room.

"How is she doing?"

"I don't know, they're not telling us anything." Akio was a little more with it, but not by much.

"Kotomi, do you know if Ryou is working today?"

"No, I'm sorry I don't know."

"I give her a call, it's worth a try at least." Less that 3 minutes later Ryou was with us.

"What happened?"

"It's Negisa, she's in there, but they're not telling us anything. Can you find anything out?"

"I'll see what I can find out." With that she hurried through into the emergency room. An extremely long 5 minutes later, she returned to us, looking very worried.

"How is she?"

"It's not good I'm afraid, she isn't breathing for herself and her heart stopped once but they have got it going again, but she is extremely weak. They will be transferring her to critical care shortly. I wish I had better news. I'll call in a few favours and see if I can get assigned to her ward. Excuse me I need to speak to someone, if I hear anything I'll come right back."

"We can't thank you enough."

"Non-sense she's my friend too." Ryou then hustled off to pull what strings she could.

"Thanks kid."

"Huh, what are you thanking me for? It was Ryou that…"

"And if you hadn't thought to call her, we would still be waiting to find out what was happening, and I would have either had to leave the bakery the way it was or make Sanae come to the hospital alone. So, like it or not we owe you a lot. Thanks."

"But…" Sanae silenced my protests with a tearful hug.

Ryou returned to us looking furious.

"They won't allow me to work Nagisa-chan's case." She was clearly very angry; it says a lot really, as frankly I'd never seen her even a little angry before. "They will however let me keep you four up dated. They're getting her ready to move to critical care now, once she's all set, I'll come and get you, okay."

"Thanks, Ryou, you're a saint."

"If I'm a saint, what does that make you?" she didn't wait for an answer, she just headed back the way she came.

"What did she mean by that?"

"I believe she was implying that you have been more helpful than she has,"

"But…"

"Kid, don't argue with your wife, you'll never win anyway."

Half an hour later Ryou returned and took us to a side room in the critical care unit, but she stopped us at the door.

"Listen, I don't want to worry you, but I need to prepare you for what you are about to see, Negisa-chan is currently not breathing for herself, so she needs a respirator, she is also on two IV drips and obviously we're monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure, in short, there are a number of tubes and wires attached to her at the moment, and it will probably be a shock when you see it. So, gentlemen, your wives will need you too be strong for them." She looked pointedly at me. "I'll be right with you just in case." She turned around and opened the door.

It was quite a shock to see her that way in spite of Ryou's best efforts, Kotomi buried her head into my shoulder and cried her heart out. At the sight of her daughter in such a state Sanae crumpled to the floor wailing, tears flooding down her face, breath only coming in gasps as her heart broke.

We sat with Negisa for over an hour Kotomi didn't want to leave, but with myself, Ryou, Akio and Sanae insisting she go home and get some rest. I didn't like to use the 'Think of the baby' card really, it felt too much like bullying to me, but it seemed both appropriate and necessary in this case. I managed to get her to eat something before I tucked her into bed, she fell asleep almost immediately, but she woke up several times in the night.

The following morning, I called Akio for an update, there had been no change in Negisa's condition which in itself wasn't quite good news, but it wasn't bad news either. She was stable for now. Sanae was insistent that my class needed me more than Negisa did and said I was welcome to visit after school finished, but not before that. Kotomi was equally restricted from visiting unless I was present. I managed to convince Kotomi that the best thing she could do would be to go to work and try and take her mind of it for a while.

It was by far the longest day of my life, by the time I reached the gate after school Kotomi was ready and waiting with a taxi to take us to the hospital. When we arrived at Negisa's room, we found Ryou and Kyou waiting outside. Ryou came over to us.

"The doctor is talking to the Furukawa's now."

"And?"

"She's fading fast. It won't be long." Kyou's sobs were all the confirmation I needed. Kotomi, however.

"No, no, no, she can't!" I had been worrying about how Kotomi would deal with it should the worst happen. She'd come a long way with her counselling, but some wounds don't heal so easily. Initially she resisted my attempt to put my arms round her, I was concerned that if I let go she would run away, she didn't fight me for long, before she simply broke down clinging to the front of my shirt and bawling, her eyes screwed tightly closed.

Once the doctor left, we gathered in Negisa's room, waiting. Keppei arrived to be with Ryou which left me to care for Kotomi and Kyou, while Akio tried in vain to console Sanae.

Time flowed like cold treacle, slow and heavy, until eventually the beeping of the heart monitor slowed and then stopped followed by a long even tone, Ryou stood up and switched of the machine as doctor arrived to perform some final checks, before pulling the sheet up over her head.

The hospital staff gave us plenty of space and time to say our goodbyes. It was nearly ten o'clock at night before Akio and Sanae managed to persuade everyone it was okay to leave. Kyou didn't want to be alone so Kotomi invited her to stay with us for a night or two.

I had feared that Kotomi would have another melt down like she did after the bus crash but in spite of her initially combative reaction, the had been largely calm, apart from the minutes immediately after Negisa passed away obviously, she'd actually spent the last 10 minutes holding Kyou, while gently stoking her hair.

We all took the following day off to process what had happened, Kotomi and Kyou had decided to help the Furukawa's in the only way they knew how, food. By around three in the afternoon they'd made enough for them to eat well for over a week.

The three of us walked around to the bakery to drop off the food and to check on the Furukawa's. Akio wasn't surprised to see us, but he was surprised by the quantity of food we had with us. Sanae's eyes were red and puffy as expected but she did manage to smile, when she greeted us, only to scowl at me a moment later.

"What are you thinking Tomoya-san? Letting your pregnant wife do so much work." I was so stunned by the fact that Sanae was actually telling me off, I didn't manage to tell her that Kyou had done most of the work.

"Um, Sanae-san?"

"Yes, Kyou-chan?"

"He didn't let her do much, actually."

"He didn't?"

"No, Tomoya was most insistent that she not do too much. And what she was allowed to do she had do sitting down."

"Oh, Tomoya-san I am so sorry I mis-judged you."

"It's okay Sanae-san, it's nice to know you care about her so much."

"I didn't know he had it in him either, it's first time I've ever heard him say no to her."

"Thank you Kyou but I'm not _that_ bad."

"Yes, you are kid, just admit it, you'll feel better for it."

"Not you too, come on, I thought you'd be on my side on this one."

"And I would be, if you weren't actually that bad."

The atmosphere remained lighter than expected but much more subdued than was normal for the Furukawa house. Sanae spent most of the time with Kotomi fussing over her and feeling her tummy when the baby kicked.

Kyou sat down next to me and watched Sanae and Kotomi.

"So, who do you think is supporting who?"

"Kotomi would do anything she could for Sanae, so distracting her by talking about the baby, isn't too much to ask really is it."

"You really think she's that aware of how Sanae is feeling."

"Kotomi has become a lot better at understanding people since school."

"You think so?"

"I know so, she's been helping you since, yesterday hasn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who held you and stroked your hair last night?"

"Kotomi did, but thought you'd told her to help me?"

"Nope, and who's idea was it to cook all day?"

"She really did all that for me?"

"She did."

"Wow, she really has grown hasn't she."

"There's a joke there somewhere."

"You love seeing that tummy and you know it."

"Yeah, I really do. How could I not? it's our baby in there."

"Ugh, you're still as love struck as ever aren't you."

"You started it you know."

"Yeah, yeah. So, how's it going at work?"

"Oh, it's going great, I have a really good bunch of kids. I can't say I love all the paper work but it's worth it."

"You're still studying as well, aren't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"I saw you're books last night."

"I decided to keep going and get my bachelor's, the school are letting me use it as part of my in-service education."

"Think back to the start of our third year, could you have ever imagined in your wildest dreams that you'd be married to a woman who adores you, with a baby on the way and working on a bachelor's degree?"

"No chance, I figured I'd end up driving a cab or something."

"Speaking of driving a cab, have you spoken to Sunohara much since school."

"I've spoken to him once since then but that's it."

"Really? I thought you'd at least keep in touch."

"So, did I to be honest, but the last time I actually spoke to him was at the wedding. Beyond that all we've had was one new year's greeting card. We were useful to one another for a while but the only reason we'd have kept in touch would have been to try and one up each other, and there's no way he's got half a chance there so there's no reason for him to keep in touch, I've written to him a few times but he hasn't answered."

"He really is an idiot, isn't he?"

"Pretty much, how are you getting on with your class?"

"A couple of the boys are a little troublesome but not bad really, have you got rid of the Oki-sensei name yet?"

"Oki-sensei, who the hell's that?" Crap.

"Thanks, Kyou, I'd managed to keep Akio from hearing about that one. The kids at my school call me Oki-Sensei."

"Tomoya-san that sounds lovely."

"Yes, the children all love Oki-sensei, one of the girls from his training class was very upset she couldn't take her Oki-sensei with her to her new class, she still comes to wait with him if her mother is running late." Kotomi added proudly.

"You always did have a way with the girls didn't you Tomoya?"

"Of course, the girls all love him he's so tall and handsome."

"Thank you Kotomi, but I'm not sure five-year old children are quite thinking that way."

"I was going to tease him about it, but I think he'd like it too much for it to be any fun." Akio lamented.

"Tomoya-san, it has been lovely having you all here, but I think your lovely wife could do with a rest, don't you?"

"I wouldn't dare argue; I wouldn't want to be shouted at, again would I?"

"But I'm fine, we've just been sitting around anyway."

"Come on angel, you are looking a little tired."

"I'm fine, Tomoya I am quite capable of spending the day at the lab without any problems."

"Yes, you are, but how much sleep did you really get last night?"

"But…"

"Kotomi-chan, you wouldn't want your husband to worry, now would you? I am very glad you came to help me feel better, but your baby needs you more than I do right now."

I think that one was a little underhanded, but it stopped her arguing any further. As we all filed out of the door Akio stopped me.

"Hey, kid, thanks."

"You already said that."

"No, not for yesterday, for today. The three of you have done more to comfort Sanae than I could."

"You've had your own grief to handle too. I'll give you a call tomorrow and check in. if you need anything at all before then give me call, even if it's just to throw a ball around."

"Thanks Tomoya, you're a good man, I'm glad you were Negisa's friend. Now go take care of your family, before you make me say any more embarrassing things."

Kotomi wanted to go back to work the next day, she had slept better so I saw no reason stop her, her colleges were already keeping an eye on her because of the baby so I wasn't worried. Kyou asked if she could stay a while longer, she didn't really want to be alone just yet, and she didn't want to get between Ryou and Keppei, with their wedding around the corner, and she'd felt a bit awkward last time she spent the night there. Part of me was glad she was so comfortable with us, while another part wondered why she wasn't worried about getting between Kotomi and I.

The Furukawa's had hoped to have the funeral as soon as possible, but due to the unexplained nature of Negisa's illness there had to be a post mortem, This revealed that she had two small tumours in her brain, one was in the hypothalamus and another in the medulla oblongata. These could interfere with her ability to regulate her body temperature and suppress her breathing and heartbeat. With the small size of the tumours and their location, it would be hard to spot on a scan, even if they were somehow found, there was nothing that could have been done about it.

This meant that the incident when Negisa was found out in the snow was not responsible for her ongoing illness, it was only responsible worsening her odds of survival during that first episode, hopefully this information can help the Furukawas find some peace.

They were finally able to hold the funeral ten days after her death. Once again, I had Kotomi crying in one shoulder and Kyou on the other. Akio struggled to hold is emotions in check as he stood at front of the chapel to give his daughter's eulogy.

"For most of her life Negisa was weak, and she fell ill often, but in her final year of school she made some friends, these people supported her, and helped her achieve her dream of resurrecting the theatre club and helped her stay well enough to graduate, but most of all these people loved her. That year was the happiest of her school life. When Negisa did fall ill again, her fiends were always at her side."

"Negisa often said that if it wasn't for one person, she would have had none of this. When Negisa couldn't find the courage to keep going forward, one person gave her the push she needed, this person introduced her to the friends she treasured until her last day. When we arrived at the hospital and nobody would tell us what was happening, the same person stayed calm enough to get us the information we needed."

"Thanks to Okazaki Tomoya, when my daughter died, she was surrounded by friends, Sanae and I owe him more than I can ever repay."

Akio's speech more than I could bare, the dam holding back my tears broke and for the first time since Negisa passed away I was able to grieve, to say good bye to my tardy buddy.

The wake was as a wake should be, cathartic, there were a few tears, but plenty of laughs too, we shared stories from the theatre club and beyond, like the way she always greeted you like she hadn't seen you in ages, and the way her face almost spontaneously combusted the first time Kotomi excitedly ambush kissed me without realising anyone else was in the room, Kotomi's only defence being 'But I missed him' Sanae and Kyou fussed over Kotomi constantly throughout the evening. Sanae I could understand, but Kyou's attentiveness was a surprise, they'd spent a lot of time together in the week Kyou had stayed with us, maybe she was just a little broody.

A week later and life was finally starting to feel somewhat normal again, until Kyou phoned.

"Tomoya~ can I ask you for a favour?"

"This is going to either, really expensive or an enormous pain in the butt, isn't it?"

"Well~" we're definitely in for it now. "You see, it's about Ryou."

"Is there a problem with the wedding arrangements?"

"You could say that, yes."

"Okay, what can we do to help?"

"Could you put Ryou up for a few nights?"

"Yeah, of course, why?"

"Why do you say that like I asked you a really dumb question?"

"It probably has something to do with the fact you asked a really dumb question."

"Why did even ask?"

"I have no idea."

"Rhetorical question Tomoya. What was I saying?"

"Ryou needs a bed for a few nights."

"Right, yes, it's really complicated so I'll explain when we get there, but put simply, the wedding is off."

'Seriously, how can she drop a bombshell like that and then hang up?'

Half an hour later and the twins were at the door with two suitcases and lots of tears.

We sat in the lounge as Kotomi cuddled the distraught Ryou.

"Alright Kyou, lets hear it. I don't think we're getting anything useful from Ryou for a bit."

"Yeah." Kyou watched as Kotomi gently stroked Ryou's hair and slowly rocked back and forth. "She's really good at that isn't she."

"Yeah, she been practising."

"Why? And with who?" Kyou gave me a horrified look.

"No, not me. Her teddy bear, she read in one of her mothering books that rocking can help calm an upset baby."

"Do you have any pictures, that's got to be the most adorable things in history."

"Yes, I have pictures and no you can't see them."

"Oh come on, you can't dangle that in front of me and then say I can't see."

"Kyou-chan, please could you keep your voice down, Ryou-chan is sleeping."

"How did you manage that, she kept me up until three in the morning?"

"What can I say, that teddy bear is her second favourite thing to cuddle."

"Second? What's the favourite thing?"

"Me, duh."

"I can't believe I just asked that."

"Neither can I to be honest, as much as I love bit of banter. What's the deal with Ryou?

"Well, she rang me the other day and said she thought she was pregnant."

"Whoops."

"You don't know the half of it. So, she did a home test kit, and it came back as positive."

"Okay with you so far."

"Obviously, she had to tell Keppei, we both thought he'd be at least a little bit happy."

"But he wasn't?"

"He really, _really_ wasn't, he said that, she should have been more careful and he's not ready yet."

"Not ready yet? How long was he expecting her to wait? And why was she the only one who had to be careful?"

"I thought the same thing, he wanted to wait five to six years, at least."

"Ouch, I know Ryou was after starting right away wasn't she."

"I know that, even _you_ know that, how could he not know it too?"

"Maybe he just thought she was feeling that way because Kotomi got pregnant."

"Seems a bit naive but it's possible, did you guys discuss kids before you got married?"

"We did, but we only waited because I was studying, we were both ready emotionally already. It's also possible he doesn't actually want kids at all, and he was hoping Ryou would change her mind or give up after a couple of years."

"Yeah you could be right."

"Okay so Keppei freaked out, then what?"

"It kind of forced the 'how long do I have to wait to have a baby' conversation, the result was he decided that he wasn't right for her and he called it all off. It did turn out to be a false alarm, but the damage is already done."

"Poor Ryou, she's had a really crappy week, hasn't she?"

"I'm not finished yet either. Do you remember how my Dad reacted when she wanted to move in with him?"

"Kyou, there are Amazonian pygmies that know how he felt about it."

"Exactly, so, Ryou made a deal with our parents that enabled her to move in with him."

"I'm guessing this deal is why she's here and not back at home."

"Yeah, she had to promise not to have sex until after the wedding. I actually think getting engaged was part of it too, but Ryou wouldn't admit that it was. If she broke this promise… she would not be permitted to return home."

"Seems a bit harsh."

"I agree but she agreed to it. That's why I was so surprised when she said she might be pregnant."

"To be honest I'm more surprised your parents made the deal to begin with. Why do you think I never moved in here until after we got married? Temptation can pile up on you, and living together alone, you never have anyone or anything to tell you to cool off or you'll make a mistake you can't take back, and when you do slip it's easy to rationalise and say 'who does it hurt' I just think you're asking for trouble really, but don't tell Ryou I said that, she'd just get more upset."

"I never expected you be so mature about all this stuff."

"I could try and explain but it'd get a bit mushy."

"Alright Dad, share your wisdom with me."

"You asked for it, Pretty much before we started dating I felt that Kotomi was who I was meant to be with, that feeling only got stronger once we started dating, even then she was already precious to me, we just '_fit'_ and when it came to anything sexual Kotomi was and to my mind still is innocent, not naive or ill-informed but innocent. And I knew I'd never forgive myself if I did anything to harm that, so I did my best to limit temptation where I could."

"I had no idea you were such a romantic."

"Tomoya can be very romantic."

"Yeah I can see that. I think I can see why you two are still so mushy with each other."

"Does that mean you'll stop teasing me about it?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you have a habit of saying really embarrassing things with a totally straight face. So, I think you need reminding when you're embarrassing people."

"I embarrass other people when I say romantic things about my wife?"

"Do you seriously not see that?"

"I'm not sure I follow, why would they be embarrassed?"

"Because you two aren't normal, 99% of the people in the world don't have what you two think is totally normal. The rest of us don't 'fit' with one another the way you guys do, we have to work around the areas of ourselves that don't quite fit with the other, most of the time people don't notice that they do it. But then you two show up 'the perfect couple' and the way you 'fit' makes everyone else feel like they're doing something wrong or they aren't trying hard enough."

"I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"I am not sure either."

"Sorry guys I didn't mean to freak you out. Now I feel guilty."

"Let's just let that one go for now. Will your Dad hold Ryou to the deal, what with everything called off?"

"I really don't know for sure; he was really serious about it at the time."

"Have either of you spoken to him about it yet?"

"I have, briefly."

"How did he react?"

"He was furious, but I'm not really sure _who_ he's angry with."

"Why hasn't Ryou spoken to him yet?"

"She wants to wait until she's a bit less emotional."

"That might not be the best tactic, she may be best served to talk to him sooner, you know, tug on the old heart strings a bit. Plus, if she doesn't speak to him soon enough, he could see it as avoiding responsibility, as much as Keppei may have talked her into it, she is still responsible for her own actions."

"I'll lead with the take responsibility bit, there's no way she'd go with tugging on heart strings."

"I didn't think she would honestly. But it's best to be aware, just in case that's what he thinks is happening."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Are you going to share with Ryou, or do you want your usual room?"

"I'll take my usual room, thanks, I love Ryou dearly, but she snores, and I didn't sleep much last night."

"Really, she seems alright now."

"Yes, but she got her head of Kotomi's lap now hasn't she, you just wait until she gets onto her back, you'll think there's a motorbike in the room."

"Onee-chan?"

"Sorry Ryou, did we wake you up?"

"Did you say you're getting a motorbike?"

"I'm thinking about it. But never mind that for now, Tomoya thinks you should go and speak to Dad tomorrow."

"But…

"Ryou, I get that you want to be able to look strong for you Dad, but I'm concerned that it could look like you're avoiding responsibility, he's more likely to be understanding of you getting upset than he is about taking responsibility late. If it comes to the worst and won't let you go home, you'll be welcome here for as long as you want, weeks, months, it really doesn't matter, so don't worry about that. Plus, it would be better for you to get it over with now, and deal with the consequences, than to worry for a few days and then have to deal with the consequences anyway." Ryou's lip began to tremble again.

'When did everyone start coming to me for advice?'

"You're all so good to me, and I don't…"

"OH no you don't, if you were about to say you don't deserve it, you're our friend and that's all there is to it." Ryou put her arms around my neck and sobbed while Kyou rubbed her back.

The following afternoon the twins returned with mixed results.

"Daddy said that I had to be responsible for my own mistakes and that being the case he would not allow me to move back home unless not doing so would leave me with nowhere to go, but he would not make me pay for any of the cancellation fees or other expenses from the wedding. He did say he would be having words with Keppei about that as it was not right for him to be able to just walk away without consequence." Ryou was a bit teary eyed but she was largely in control of her emotions. Apparently, he had be quite understanding about the whole thing, but he had never been one to coddle his children.

"Well Kotomi, it looks like we have ourselves a lodger, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does Tomoya, it'll be nice to have someone that can help you do the housework."

"Wait, to help _him_ with the house work." Kyou gave a rather incredulous look.

"Yes, and? You don't seriously think I'm going to let her do all that house work do you? She's pregnant for pity's sake."

"Not _all _of it no but…"

"Kyou-chan I have had the same discussion many times, and I have yet to convince him of his flawed reasoning."

"At the rate he's going in a couple of months you won't be allowed to use your own chopsticks."

"Hey, now there's a thought. Thanks, Kyou I'd never have thought of that."

"T-Tomoya-kun, I do not believe that Kyou-chan intended for her comment to be considered as a suggestion."

"She still uses the honorifics sometimes then."

"Only when she get's flustered."

"Ryou-chan, our baby is kicking, would you like to feel?"

"Oh yes please."

"Yeah, me too."

"Hey, what about me?"

"You'll have to catch the next one, this one's sold out." I was a faintly comical sight, Kotomi sitting on the sofa, with the twins kneeling down either side of her with their hand on her tummy. "Oh wow, she's really kicking, today isn't she?"

"I believe she is always the most excitable when Tomoya is teasing me, but I am unsure whether she is happy about her daddy's teasing or not."

"Oh, Kotomi-chan when did you find out you will be having a girl?"

"We have not been able to prove gender yet, but I am convinced that we are having a girl."

"It's much nicer saying her or she than 'it' anyway."

"Kotomi-chan, does it ever scare you? That you're going to be a mother soon I mean."

"I am sometimes anxious, but Tomoya always makes me feel better."

"You're so lucky, I was really scared when I thought I was pregnant, then Keppei just panicked, so then I was thinking what if I have to raise it alone."

"I think if we hadn't been trying to get pregnant, I'd be way less calm about it myself, so don't be too down on yourself, okay."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun, for letting me stay too."

"I'm sure we'll be glad of some extra help as Kotomi gets… I mean as the pregnancy progresses."

"Nice save, Tomoya."

"Kotomi has actually been enjoying showing off her baby bump, it's got the mums at school talking that's for sure."

"Why would I dislike on oh the more prominent features of my pregnancy?"

"You've always had such a good figure I assumed you would have more of an issue with, you know getting bigger."

"But Tomoya like's my tummy, so I have no reason to dislike it myself."

"He likes your tummy?"

"I believe he sees it as a representation of his virility and sexual prowess."

"I'm not sure I'd have put it quite that way Kotomi."

"Yeah, you remember what I was saying about you guys embarrassing people."

"Oh! I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"Seriously? You're talking about your husband's sexual prowess and preferences, as though you're talking about going shopping." Kotomi just blinked, with a 'what are you talking about' look on her face. "But didn't she go bright red when she covered your eyes from behind and her boobs touched your back? How did we get from that, to this?"

"I have no idea, it's like someone flipped a switch when we got married."

"Why do I keep asking these kinds of questions?"

"I have no idea. Ryou, you can have the main bathroom to yourself, Kotomi tend to use the en-suite anyway, and I'll show you how to the washing machine tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you, I should be able to work out how to use the washing machine."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Kotomi chose it, it looks like something out of Star trek or something."

"It has the best filtration system on the market."

"Don't get me wrong, it does a great job, but I still need the instruction book sometimes."

"I still can't imagine you doing all the house work."

"Oh, Kyou, would you mind running Kotomi in to work in the morning?"

"Yeah sure."

"Tomoya, I do not need to be driven to work, I am quite capable of walking."

"So, you weren't complaining about a bad back and swollen ankles yesterday then?"

"But I am not an invalid."

"I know that angel, but why make life harder than it needs to be? Kyou practically goes past the lab anyway."

"Very well, I cannot refute your logic."

"I know I fuss over you a bit, but it'd kill me if anything happened to you and the baby."

"I think that's our signal Ryou, let's go jump in a bath and leave these two lovebirds alone for a bit."

Ryou had a tough time dealing with the break up, not surprising given she was days away from getting married. Keppei was remarkably spineless about the whole thing, he was conveniently 'busy' the day I took Ryou round to get the rest of her stuff and had tried to leave all of the calling around to cancel things and tell people not to come for the wedding to Ryou. Kyou and her father corrected him on this, and he was 'persuaded' that he should do all of this and pay half of any costs incurred.

It was nearly a month before I saw Ryou give what you call a proper smile, not the polite fragile one she had since the breakup. A week after that Kotomi had her first experience with Braxton Hicks contractions. She was into the third trimester now, so we had all sorts of fun things to deal with. Kotomi was having trouble sleeping which means I had trouble sleeping too and she needed to pee like every five minutes.

Kotomi still came to meet me after school, she was getting pretty big by now, so she was attracting a lot of attention from the parents that were there to collect their own children, this did create some awkward moments when a child asked why she got so fat. Little Kotori was fascinated by Kotomi's ever expanding tummy, although she was a bit startled when she felt the baby kick, Habane-san decided it was probably a good idea to have a little talk to her daughter. The following day is seems that Kotori was quite excited by the concept that Kotomi was going to have a baby and shared this fact with her class, this upshot of this was by the time I got out to the gate Kotomi was fielding questions with six or seven little girls, it was a little awkward when one of them asked how it got in there, and how would it get out? I was quite funny as I saw her father's shoulders slump, clearly, he was hoping to get away without giving her 'the talk' just yet.

With the difficulties Kotomi was beginning to have getting around we decided we should get a car, the only problem being, neither of us could drive. Kotomi found a short course that would get me my licence, she wanted to learn herself but when we were looking at cars she found that if she had the seat far enough back that her tummy wasn't in the way, she couldn't reach the pedals.

I was fine with going on the course but I wasn't so sure they should market it as a 'crash course' I did mean I had to go to lessons straight after work and I didn't get home until it was quite late, I was really glad Ryou was around to help Kotomi.

The day I passed my test Kotomi presented me a small box containing a key. We had looked at a few cars but I hadn't expected to just be presented with one. She had chosen it based on a high safety rating, lots of room in the back for a pram and lots of room in the passenger compartment, she chose the colour based on a statistical analysis of my age demographic.

It was an enormous red car, it was a bit intimidating as I'd been learning in a car that barely had four seats, don't get me wrong it was a really nice car, but it also really big.

Kotomi decided that she wanted to have a home birth, I was against it to begin with, but she produced a stack of research papers proving there was no statistical increase in risk, provided the mother didn't have any other pre-existing risk factors, so far Kotomi had no other complicating factors. She had apparently predicted my opposition to the idea. Sanae introduced us to a friend of hers who was a midwife and dealt with home births. Ryou also insisted that she would be there as well, just in case. Between the three of them they didn't leave me much room to object.

Not to put too finer point on it but Kotomi was getting pretty big by now, she was pretty petite before she got pregnant, so it showed all the more. She was getting tired much more easily so she would have a nap before dinner most days.

One evening she plodded into the kitchen still looking quite sleepy, she wrapped her arms around my bicep and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Tomoya, have you had any further thoughts on baby names?"

"I keep coming back to the idea of using either your mother or fathers name, nothing else is really grabbing me, what about you, any ideas?"

"I did have one thought, if we do have a girl, how would you feel about calling her Negisa?"

"Hmm that's a nice idea actually, but let me run the idea past Akio first, Sanae is still quite delicate on the subject and I don't want to upset her by asking."

"Thank you, that would be best." I spoke to Akio about it, he was quite pleased with the idea, so he said he would do what he could prepare Sanae. We went by the following Sunday for dinner, we'd been doing the same thing most weeks since the funeral so it wouldn't seem too out of the ordinary.

"So Tomoya-san, Kotomi-chan, Akio-san says you wanted to talk to me about Negisa." There was a distinct catch in her voice, but she was soldiering on anyway.

"We wanted to ask you if you would be alright with us naming our baby Negisa if we have a girl."

"Oh, yes, yes please do, thank you so much, I… I…" She didn't manage to finish her sentence before the was holding on to Kotomi in floods of tears. I was worried we had upset her until I saw that although she was in tears, she was still smiling.

In the following weeks we saw a lot more of Sanae and Akio, Sanae would bring us baby clothes, little booties and hats she had knitted, but it was the small teddy bear that caught Kotomi's attention, she was crying at the drop of a hat at the moment so a teddy bear was more than enough to bring her to tears, Akio was a bit alarmed but Sanae took it in her stride.

Ryou had started looking for an apartment of her own, she was having trouble finding something within her budget and close enough to the hospital, she had returned from another unproductive day of searching, when Kotomi practically begged her not to leave yet. She was insistent that Ryou was very helpful to her and she would need even more support very soon. Ryou looked quite relieved and agreed but said that she needed to stand on her own two feet, so she would move out after the we had found our feet as parents.

With just a few weeks left before her due date Kotomi was getting restless, forever cleaning or reorganising the nursery. One evening I was trying to get dinner on as Kotomi was attempting to clean around me.

"Kotomi, you're making it quite difficult to cook you know."

"I am sorry, Tomoya, I am quite restless today."

"Why don't you go up to the study and read for a bit, that always calms you down."

"Thank you Tomoya, why did I not think of that?"

"Because your brain is awash with hormones and you haven't been sleeping. Now off you go, I'll call you when dinner is ready." She nodded and waddled off to the study.

An hour later.

"Kotomi! Dinner!" No sign of movement. "Kotomi!?"

"TOMOYA-KUN I NEED YOU!" My brain ran wild throwing worst case scenarios at me, as I ran up the stairs three steps at a time. I burst in to the study.

"Kotomi! Are you okay? What happened? Are you okay!?" Kotomi was sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by a ring of books just like she did in the school library.

"I can not get up." Kotomi looked up at me with a pout on face I was sure I'd seen one of my students give me.

"What?"

"I am unable to get up off the floor." Relief washed over me, as I tried and mostly failed to stifle a laugh. This earned me a pout I had definitely seen at work.

"Alright, new rule, no sitting on the floor until after you've had the baby. My heart couldn't stand a repeat performance."

"What happened? Is the baby coming?" Ryou arrived, first aid kit in one hand and the phone in the other.

"No, it's alright, false alarm." Ryou seemed to guess what had happened, as I heaved Kotomi to her feet.

Over the following week Kotomi had two false alarms thanks to Braxton Hicks contractions. The one at 7pm wasn't so bad, 3am yeah that one was not so good. The midwife said it was all totally normal and not to worry. She dropped in a couple of days later to check on Kotomi. She told us that the baby had shifted position so, it would likely not be too much longer.

We got everything organised ready for the home birth, Kotomi was still in good shape and there were no additional risk factors. We had an area cleared in the bedroom and a mat laid out with towels, sterile water (Kotomi insisted it had to sterile) and a bunch of extra pillows.

I couldn't quite decide if I was nervous, excited or scared. Probably all three if I'm honest. Kotomi had taken to singing lullabies to the baby, it was quite a heart-warming sight, I just hope she doesn't start singing that damn Dango song.

2:30am

"Tomoya, wake up."

"Hmmm, yeah."

"Tomoya, wake up!"

"Yeah, I'm awake, what's up." I'm really not awake yet.

"My water has broken." Okay now I'm awake.

"Right! Err… what am I supposed to be doing here? Right! Midwife."

"There is no reason to panic Tomoya."

"Panicking, who's panicking, I'm not panicking." Kotomi just looked at me. "I'm panicking, aren't I? Right deep breaths. Call the midwife I'll get Ryou." 'That was a little embarrassing.' Ryou to the rescue.

"Kotomi-chan do you want to move or are you comfortable where you are for now."

"I believe I would like to move over to the mat."

"Is the midwife on the way?"

"Yes, she says she will be here in ten minutes."

"Good, I will go and get Tomoya-kun some coffee while he gets you comfortable."

'The woman is a saint, seriously'

True to her word, the midwife arrived in around 10 minutes.

"Okay, looks like Dad has got you all settled. Let's have a quick look ad see where we're up to. "

We still had a long way to go.

Kotomi alternated between pacing around the room and sitting and reading. It was horrible, having to watch her go through so much pain, it took about an hour of this before she officially entered the active phase. The contractions were a little less than five minutes apart now, and Kotomi really wanted to start pushing.

Three hours of panting, shouting and pushing later and we could finally see the head. Kyou had arrived, having decided that if she was going to spend the night chewing her nails and pacing around, she may as well do it here.

I felt like kind of a moron panting along with Kotomi and telling her to push. I had to dash to the toilet between contractions as Kotomi really, really didn't want to let go of my hand. Kyou stood in for me while I was gone as Ryou went to and fro with sports drinks for Kotomi and cold water to wet the flannel I was using to wipe Kotomi's forehead.

Another half an hour and the head was clear and one of the shoulders was almost out. The next few contractions were especially intense, but the first shoulder was out. we're almost there.

Once the other shoulder was out, Kotomi was almost euphoric with the relief, moments later and we had screaming baby girl, the midwife gave baby Negisa a quick wipe and check up before passing her to Kotomi, she then asked me if I wanted to cut the cord.

Once I had done that the midwife gave Kotomi an injection to help with the afterbirth and I went to meet my daughter.

The afterbirth went without a hitch and was all over in ten minutes. I could tell Kyou and Ryou were itching to have a hold of Negisa but there was no way Kotomi was going to let go just yet.

After a few minutes, the midwife took Negisa to one side to clean her up and make sure there were no problems, after that I got to hold my daughter for the first time, while Kotomi was cleaned up. It was an intensely emotional experience; I couldn't help but cry tears of joy. Only one thought was in my mind 'I'm a Dad.'

Kotomi fed Negisa for the first time and held her for about half an hour before tiredness got the better of her and she went to sleep.

It wasn't long before aunty Kyou and aunty Ryou were looking at me with hopeful eyes.

Kotomi and Negisa slept for a few hours before Negisa woke up needing to be changed, I was the lucky one who got to do the first nappy change, despite how immensely gross it was I was happy to do it, Akio and Sanae arrived within ten minutes of me calling to tell them Kotomi was ready for visitors, but they had to wait as Kotomi was feeding Negisa when they got here. I hadn't told them that we had a girl when I called them, Kotomi wanted to be the one to tell them. Akio was too emotional to speak when he was told that Negisa would be raised to think of them as grandparents, Sanae being the way she is had no issues expressing herself, as she held our daughter with tears in her eyes and the biggest smile I had seen since her own daughter died.

The rest of the day consisted of well-wishers dribbling in including my Dad, and phone calls from the friends that couldn't make it. Several bunches of flowers along with the inevitable stuffed toys now covered the dining room table. I did have to disappoint the majority of the visitors as I didn't think I was the best idea to have a baby that was less than a day old passed around like a parcel in a kid's party game, Kyou simply smirked at me while shaking her head.

She may have thought I was being overprotective, but that didn't stop her from using the exact same excuse to extend the time she had holding Negisa later on, she took every possible chance she could to hold her even if that meant changing nappies. Ryou on the other hadn't held Negisa very much, she did spend a lot of time with her, but seemed very nervous of holding her.

The new schedule we were forced into because of Negisa needing to feed every three hours was exhausting, I was really grateful I had a couple of weeks paternity leave, despite being exhausted Kotomi always looked so happy when she was feeding her daughter. By the end of my leave, Negisa would sleep for five hours in a block at night, unfortunately this still meant there was a 4am feeding, and then again at some time between 6 and 7am.


	7. Chapter 7 - Family Life

**Chapter 7 Family Life**

I really didn't want to go back to work yet, but I didn't have any leave I could take to extend my time at home. My first day back at work was tiring partly because of lack of sleep, and partly because of the excited mothers that accosted me at the start of the day. Leaving work, I found a crowd hanging around the gate, and at the centre of the crowd was Kotomi and Negisa, what followed was a lot of cooing and comments like she has her daddies' eyes and so on. I think Kotomi just wanted to show off our daughter to the _other_ mothers at school.

Kotomi resumed meeting me after school, she made a couple of friends among the mothers at the gates, who gave her advice and tips, the following couple of months things settle into a comfortable routine. Negisa sailed through her two-month check-up, she didn't make too much fuss after getting her vaccinations. She was beginning to try and push herself up when she was on her tummy, she was quite a vocal child with lots of burbling, humming and cooing most of which Kotomi described as Negisa 'talking' to her. It was extremely rewarding when she started waving her arms around when she heard my voice, Negisa that is not Kotomi, that would have been weird.

"Would you like some tea, Kotomi?"

"No, I will wait until Negisa has finished her breakfast first thank you."

"Good morning, Kotomi-chan, Tomoya-kun and hello there Nagisa-chan."

"Morning Ryou, you're up early today, isn't it your day off?"

"Yes, I have something I want to do today."

"Anything exciting?"

"Well…"

"Look if it's personal, you don't have tell us."

"No, it's not that, it's just… I'm not sure you'll like it."

"You're going to start flat hunting again aren't you."

"Yes, I think it's time, you three seem well settled now, so I don't think you need me around anymore."

"That doesn't mean we don't _want_ you around."

"Tomoya, would you take Nagisa for a moment while I talk to Ryou-chan?"

"Have a cuddle with my little princess, how could I say no? Why don't we have a little walk in the garden, while mommy has a chat with Aunty Ryou."

"He really dotes on her, doesn't he? What did you want to talk about?"

"Yes I couldn't wish for a better father figure for Nagisa, I have been considering when to return to work at the lab, I have 6 weeks maternity leave remaining but after that point I will have to either resign or return to work, they have already stated that it would be permissible for me to return on a part time basis."

"Well it's good they are willing to be flexible."

"They are most eager that I return to work, however my return to work does raise the question of child care. It would need to be someone or somewhere that both Tomoya and I trust."

"what about the Furukawas?"

"I had considered that, but we would need care to begin in the morning at a time when they are both still very busy with the bakery. We have reviewed a number of day care facilities, but we have yet to find one that neither I nor Tomoya have reservations about."

"What other options do you have?"

"We have put considerable thought to hiring a nanny."

"That's not a bad idea, did you have anyone in mind?"

"We have decided to offer the position to you. We are willing to match your current income."

"Oh… do you mind if I think about it? It would mean giving up nursing, I love Nagisa-chan too but it's a big decision."

"Tomoya believed you would say just that, this is why we asked you while I still have several weeks of maternity leave remaining. We will require an answer prior to my return to work but as long as we have an answer 1 week prior to my return to the lab we will be able to make alternate arrangements."

"Thank you, I will let you know as soon as I have made a decision. Did you three have any plans today?"

"Yes, we will be visiting Tomoya's farther today."

"How are they getting on these days?"

"I would not describe them as especially close, but Tomoya believes that Nagisa should have the opportunity to know her grandfather. Since Tomoya's graduation Naoyuki-san had been doing better, he had cut back on drinking and was keeping the house tidier, but since Nagisa was born, he has been making more of an effort, I think he believed that he wouldn't be able to see his granddaughter if he did not."

"That's good to hear, I only saw Tomoya-kun's house once and I was quite shocked to see his father sleeping on the living room floor."

"He was much the same way when I first met him myself. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive of taking Nagisa into that kind of environment, but Naoyuki-san has since quit smoking, and although he does still drink more than is healthy, he has cut back significantly."

"Tomoya, Kotomi-chan, it is good to see you, how is Nagisa today?"

"Nagisa is in good health thank you, it is good to see you doing so well Naoyuki-san, you are looking quite well."

"Hi Dad, I was a little surprised when you asked us to come here since you've been coming to our place most of the time, was there something specific you wanted to talk about, or did you just want to play with Nagisa?"

"There was something I wanted to talk to the two of you about, but not until I've spent some time with my granddaughter."

"I shall put some tea on while you two play then."

"That would be lovely, thank you Kotomi-chan."

"I must admit, the place is looking in good shape, have you painted or something?"

"I've given the place a good cleaning, but I wouldn't want little Nagisa to have to breath paint fumes." If I'm truly honest with myself I couldn't help but think 'why couldn't you get you're act together like this when I was still living here' although the happiness on his face as he played with my daughter dispelled any resentment in short order.

"I'll go and check on Kotomi."

"Okay." He was only half listening at this point, playing with Nagisa and a fuzzy dinosaur had him quite occupied for the moment.

"Everything okay in here Kotomi?"

"Oh, Tomoya, I thought you would be talking to your father."

"Between Nagisa and her dinosaur, I'm not getting much of a look in."

"It is gratifying to see him playing with her so enthusiastically isn't it?"

"I was just thinking the same thing, the place looks quite different from the first time we were here doesn't it."

"It is quite the transformation."

"My Dad or the house? Shall we go through and see what he wanted to talk to us about.?"

"I was referring to the house, but your father has changed almost as much." He almost didn't notice when Kotomi put the tea tray down on the table.

"Do you want some tea Dad? Or would you rather keep playing with the dinosaur?"

"Some tea would be nice thank you, but I may return to the dinosaur afterwards." The amusement in his voice seemed both nostalgic and unfamiliar at the same time.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Hmm… where to start…"

"There's no rush if you need to gather your thoughts."

"Thanks, but it's ok. Do you remember your grandmother at all?"

"No, I don't remember much of my childhood, on that point do you know of any reason why I'd forget so much."

"You were quite ill with meningitis when you were 8, I suppose that could have something to do with it. The last time I saw your grandmother was just after your mother died, and I've had scarcely any contact since then, but I thought it would be unfair to both her and Nagisa if I didn't tell her that she has a great granddaughter."

"I didn't think we had any living relatives, so something like that never really crossed my mind."

"There are a few, but there was a big falling out, when I married your mother. We tried reaching out when you were born, but the letters were returned to sender. I wrote to your grandmother just after Nagisa was born, I told her how well you were doing; Lovely wife and daughter, an excellent job that you love, and so on. I'll admit I wasn't sure she'd answer."

"I assume she did."

"Yes, she wrote to me a week or so after, we've spoken on the phone a number of times since. She said that she'd been trying to respect my privacy and was very happy to hear of how well you were doing, I hope you don't mind but I sent her some copies of photos from your wedding and one of Negisa."

"No that's absolutely fine, if she wants any more of Negisa we have hundreds at home."

"I'll tell her that, thank you. She was, however concerned about how I was doing. I have been finding it easier since Negisa came along, but it is far from easy, I don't know that I'll ever recover fully from losing your mother."

"I do not know if I would recover myself were I to lose Tomoya, and to have to raise him on your own as well."

"Yes, it has been a struggle, but I believe that my purpose here has been served, Tomoya no longer needs me, to provide a roof over his head, and he raised himself for the most part."

"Dad it's…"

"I know my own failings, thank you Tomoya. To make a long story short, she has invited me to move back to live with her, she will be needing support herself before too long, she is quite old, so I have decided to accept her offer, I know I won't be able to see the three of you as much."

"Don't worry, we'll come and visit, and you can always come and visit us too."

"Thank you very much Tomoya I really appreciate that, my moving does raise the question of what to do with this house."

"I always assumed you were renting it."

"No, the mortgage was paid off about a year ago. But I will not be needing the place any more, and there are some memories here that I would sooner forget. With that in mind, I have decided to give it to you three to do with as you wish, sell it, rent it out I really don't mind."

"Wow, really? Are you sure? I mean that's huge."

"I am quite sure yes Tomoya. I will be moving in a couple of weeks, after that it's all yours."

"I don't know what to say, 'thank you' seems rather inadequate."

"Keep sending me plenty of pictures of Negisa and that will be thanks enough."

"Yeah, of course." True to his word, he returned to playing with the fuzzy dinosaur, and Negisa too of course.

"Well, that was all a bit of a shock."

"Indeed, it was, do you have any thoughts on what you would like to do with the house?"

"I did have one idea actually, who do we know that is looking for an affordable place to live?"

"You wish to rent it to Ryou-chan?"

"Yeah, I was thinking we could rent it to her at a nominal rent, she won't accept it if we charge too little, but I think if we put it at a little below what her budget is, she would probably go for it."

"You always think of your friends first don't you, it is one of the many things I love about you."

"Hi Ryou-chan, how has your day been."

"A little frustrating actually but thank you for asking."

"What was frustrating about it?"

"I've been looking for an apartment, but there isn't much in my price range."

"We may be able to help you there."

"What do you mean?"

We filled her in on the events of the day and our plans for my dad's house. To say she was surprised would be an understatement.

"But you've already helped me so much, I couldn't…"

"I hadn't realised there was a limit on how much you can help a friend?"

"There isn't but…"

"Look, we have a house already, so we'd end up renting it out anyway, you need a place to live and we don't need the money. It sounds like an ideal solution to me."

"What if I decide not to be Negisa's nanny?"

"One has nothing to do with the other."

"I don't know what to say."

"Yes, would be the most logical answer."

"Would it be okay if Kyou-chan moved in as well?"

"Sure thing."

"Okay, then I'll accept you offer, thank you so much, you're always doing so much for me." Ryou gave us both a slightly teary-eyed hug. "I'll go and tell Onee-chan the news."

Throughout the following week I would see Ryou looking over at Nagisa, while chewing on her thumb nail, it seems she was quite torn over our job offer.

"Umm, Kotomi-chan is Tomoya-kun around?"

"Yes, he is working in the garden, did you need him for something?"

"I wanted to speak to the both of you, if that's okay."

"Of course, I'll go and get him."

"You wanted to talk to us?" Ryou was looking really nervous, and a little sheepish for some reason. "Is something wrong?"

"No, well, sort of, I wanted to talk to you about your job offer."

"Would it be fair to say you've decided to decline?"

"Actually, I wanted to suggest someone else."

"Oh… Who did you have in mind?" I had a fair idea who she was thinking of, but I had no idea why.

"Would you be willing to offer it to Kyou-chan?"

"I don't see a problem with that, but I was under the impression that she was really happy where she was."

"Her school has started offering voluntary redundancy, they're having to down size because of diminishing numbers of students. If they don't get enough volunteers, they'll have to make up the numbers name some to leave."

"And Kyou is in a last in first out situation?"

"Yes, I had been starting to lean towards accepting the job, but Kyou will need a job soon and she adores Nagisa-chan, so I thought that maybe you could ask her."

"Does she know, we've offered the job to you?"

"No, and if you don't mind, I'd rather she didn't know, at least until she's made a decision. I don't want her to say no so that I can have the job."

"That makes sense, alright then, I guess we should give her a call then. I assume you're okay with Kyou doing it Kotomi?"

"Oh, absolutely, she so very fond of Nagisa."

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about? Is it about the house?"

"Actually, Ryou told us about the redundancies at your school."

"I haven't been laid off yet, so, you don't need to worry about me, I've got plenty of time before they make me redundant."

"Is there some sort of financial incentive to take voluntary redundancy?"

"Yes, it's an extra two months' pay, but if it takes me longer than that to find a job, I'm going to end up in a tight spot."

"What if you had a job offer already, would you take it?"

"I guess so, it would depend on the job."

"Kotomi and I are looking to hire a nanny for Negisa, Kotomi will have to go back to work in a few weeks, so we'll need something in place by then. We would like to offer the position, we'd match your current income, so you won't be worse off financially and we'd only need you for four days a week, that's the plan for now anyway."

"You really want me to look after Nagisa?"

"Why wouldn't we? You've got experience working with children, you can help with her education, she already loves her aunty Kyou and most importantly, we both trust you." Kyou started to tear up.

"Thank you so much. I would love to. It really means a lot to me that you'd trust me to look after Nagisa." Kyou's voice was husky with emotion. Seeing how emotional she was about it, I felt a little guilty that we hadn't asked her in the first place.

"You are very welcome Kyou-chan, we know how much you care about her." Kotomi gave Kyou a hug, getting a little emotional herself.

"We don't need you to start for five weeks, so you can take the voluntary redundancy, work your notice and get yourself a nice bonus, before you start." It was my turn for a hug.

"Thank you, Tomoya, I know how protective of her you are, so trusting me enough to look after her while you're both at work, really means a lot."

"Like Kotomi said we know how much you love her, and it's not like you haven't looked after her before."

"I know but that was only for a couple of hours, when you were out for dinner. It's not the same thing, not to me anyway."

"Honestly, if we didn't trust you to deal with whatever happened, we wouldn't have asked you to look after her for five minutes, how far away we are, or how long, doesn't make a difference to me."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Oh, and thank you for the house too, Ryou is really excited to be living together again."

"Yeah, she's been talking about it quite a bit. You all set to move in next week?"

"I think so, I'm not really in to having lots of ornaments around the place, so it won't take me too long to pack things up, except for all the books I've accumulated with teacher training and in-service education, they're heavier than you expect them to be."

"I know what you mean, it'd be a nightmare if we ever had to try and pack up all of Kotomi's books. If you need an extra pair of hands, just give me a shout."

"Thanks, I was hoping you'd say that."

The following week while we were putting the last of my Dad's belongings in the back of the movers van, Dad was keeping Nagisa entertained, he'd said he was going to miss playing with her, so I suggested that he take the chance to spend time with her, and Kotomi and I would pack up the van.

"Are you okay Tomoya? You have been very quiet."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kotomi put down the box she was carrying and gave me the '_I know you're not being honest_' look. "Alright, alright, fine. I'm not sure what to feel at the moment. I've spent so much of my life hating being anywhere near him, but lately we've been getting on fairly well and it makes me kind of happy watching him play with Nagisa. I just can't quite process it at the moment."

"I believe I understand."

"I'm glad someone does." Kotomi smiled warmly and placed her hand on my cheek.

"I always understand you." She simply kissed me gently on the lips. We returned to packing the van, true to her word, Kotomi knew me well enough to stay quiet for a while and leave me to sort out my feelings.

The three of us watched the van disappear into the distance, not that I think for one second that Nagisa understood what was going on.

"I don't know if I'll actually miss him as such, most of the time we spent together was more about him having time with Nagisa, maybe I'll miss that… I don't know… it's complicated."

"We are going to visit in the next school holidays, so it will not be too long until you see him again."

"True, we should get going, I need to get dinner started."

The phone rang late in the evening, Kotomi was busy feeding Negisa.

"Hello?"

"Ah, just the man I was looking for. Are you busy tomorrow?"

"Yes, very."

"Oh… well, doing what? Is it important, or can you put it off?"

"How important is it? That depends really."

"Depends on what?"

"How much of a hurry are you in to move out of your flat?"

"You can never make it simple, can you?"

"Not when you make is so much fun to tease you." I could almost hear Kyou's eyes rolling.

"So, can you help me?"

"Yeah, no problem. What time do you need me?"

"Is about 9am okay?" So much for my lie in.

"Yeah that's fine, do you need me to bring anything?"

"You're a life saver, if you have any boxes I could do with some more."

"Boxes? Aren't you packed yet?"

"Not as such, no." I don't like the sound of that.

"How much have you packed?"

"I've packed up most of my bedroom."

"And you have to be out by when?"

"Umm, Monday morning."

"Kyou, it's Sunday tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Alright, let me see if I can call in the cavalry."

"Thanks, you're a saint. I'll do you and 'The cavalry' breakfast, when you get here."

"Don't saint's usually get stoned to death?"

"Not _all_ of them."

"See you in the morning."

Her flat isn't _that_ big how long could it take.

"This is going to take all day." Akio had agreed to help as soon as I told him Kyou was going to cook breakfast for us. It looked like he was having second thoughts now.

"Why did you leave packing so late?" I was beginning to have second thoughts myself at this point.

"I've been really busy, I don't know about your school, but my lesson plans take forever."

"They don't take that long, seriously, they take me like an hour, give or take."

"ONE HOUR!"

"Yeah… How long does it take you?"

"2 or 3 hours."

"Maybe we should take a look at that, once we've got all this lot sorted."

"What for? I'm leaving at the end of next week anyway."

"Good point."

Akio wasn't far off with his assessment of how long it was going to take. It was three in the afternoon y the time we sealed the last box up, and we still needed to move it all to the house. Thankfully Akio had brought the bakery's van with him, so between that and my car we should be able to take it all in one run.

"Geeze! What's in this box? Rocks?"

"It's my books actually."

"Okay, that make sense. Hey where's Botan?"

"You've only just noticed he's not here?"

"I forgot you had him to be honest."

"He's at my parents' house. I'm not allowed pets here."

"You going to move him into the house?"

"Can I? You don't mind?"

"It's fine, I know how well trained he is, but is he going to be okay around Ryou?"

"Oh, thank you so much, that's awesome. He gets on with her okay now, as long as she stays out of the kitchen anyway."

It was 6pm by the time we finished moving all of Kyou's stuff into the house.

"That's the last box. Alright, who's for take-out?"

"I was going to say that myself. You two have really helped me, so I was going to treat you."

"You can chip in if you like, but Kotomi and Ryou need something, By the way do you want to invite Sanae to my place for dinner?"

"That'd be great, thanks kid."

"Alright, fine. But I'm paying."

"Kyou, I'll let you pay half at the most."

"But… Hey! Don't just start texting while I'm talking."

"Can you really afford to pay for that much take-out food."

"Well…"

"Look, I don't have a problem if you want to chip in for Akio and me, but it's not really fair for me to add a bunch of extra people and expect you to pay for them too."

"Fine," Kyou gave a resigned sigh. "You're a real pain in butt sometimes."

"Right back at you."

Thankfully when it came to moving Ryou's stuff, she was already packed and there was way less of it. But the place seemed really empty without her around.

It was the first time since before Negisa was born, that we had the place to ourselves.

"It seems kind of strange, doesn't it?"

"What is it that feels strange?"

"It's actually never been just us and Negisa in the house."

"That is true, do you find it disagreeable?"

"No, it's just 'different' it's not like Ryou was noisy, but it seems quiet somehow."

"Then perhaps we need to increase the number of permanent residents." Kotomi gave me an impish grin.

"It's a very nice idea, but let's at least get this one weaned first, don't you think?"

"That is probably best, I was not really serious." She looked a little disappointed. "But I would like it if our children were close in age."

"Yeah, it'd be nice. But let's just see how things go for a while. One baby is plenty of work as it is."

"I know, you are correct, of course." She looked a little like I'd taken her toys away from her.

"Look, we can have as many kids as you want. But there's no need to rush, especially as Negisa is our first. Okay?"

"Okay." She looked a little more satisfied with my response this time.

The following week it was Kyou's first official day as Negisa's nanny, she'd been around for a couple of days beforehand so she could get a feel for Negisa's routine, likes and dislikes, that sort of thing, but this was the first time she'd have her to herself all day. She was also going to be helping with a little of the housekeeping, she'd also volunteered to cook dinner for us as well. Her reasoning being we were at work all day and she'd just be playing with Negisa all day. I'm not sure how much 'playing' she'd get to do, Negisa is only a couple of months old, but I wasn't going to argue to much, considering it would mean I'd get to eat Kyou's cooking.

Kyou was a little nervous, which was understandable, I be honest Kotomi was _way_ more nervous.

"So, you have our mobile numbers?"

"Umm yes… I use them like every day as it is."

"Right, right, sorry. Do you have the emergency number list?"

"Yes, it's by the phone, just like it was the last ten times you asked."

"I am sorry, but I am a little apprehensive."

"It's fine Kotomi."

"OH! I did not intend to suggest that I thought that you weren't capable of caring for Negisa."

"It's okay, you're going to be late if you don't get going soon."

"Come on, Kotomi, let's go." I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently guided her out of the door, giving Kyou an apologetic look as we left.

I hadn't seen Kotomi this nervous since, the first day I brought her to work.

"They'll be fine, Kotomi."

"I know, it is illogical, but I cannot help it."

"I know angel, I was nervous the first day I went back to work too. You'll probably be fine in a couple of days." Kotomi was still chewing on her thumb nail, but she nodded and began to walk into the Lab grounds, but she did look back a few times.

"Hello Kotomi, yes Negisa is fine."

"Kyou-chan, how did you know it was me before I spoke?"

"Because it's been exactly 60 minutes since you last rang, just like the time before that and the one before that."

"I am sorry, I am…"

"Nervous, yes I know you are, don't worry about it, I do understand."

"I will attempt to restrain myself for the remainder of the day."

"Don't worry about it too much, I'd rather you rang, than sit and worry at work, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Kyou-chan."

According to Kyou, Kotomi did manage and hour and a half after that before she rang again. By the time I was ready to leave work, Kotomi was already at the gate getting sympathetic looks and encouragement from the other mothers. She was calmer than she had been in the morning, but that's not saying much really.

By the time we got through the front door, Kyou was already standing there with Negisa, ready to hand her off to Kotomi the instant she got in.

"Thanks Kyou, she didn't give you too much trouble, did she?"

"Who, Negisa or Kotomi?"

"I was thinking of Kotomi when I asked, but I guess the same question works for both. She didn't phone you too often, did she?"

"You say that like you didn't call yourself."

"Oh, come on, I don't think twice in a day is too much."

"I'm guessing you'd have called more if you didn't have a class full of kids to deal with."

"Probably. So how often did she call you?"

"About every hour." Kotomi was too busy with Negisa to realize she was being talked about and hadn't even said hello to Kyou yet.

"I'm impressed she managed that, having seen how nervous she was when I dropped her off this morning."

"The first one was about half an hour after she would have got there. After that it was exactly 60 minutes."

"She probable set herself a timer and wouldn't allow herself to call before it went off."

"Sounds like something she'd do. Anyway, dinner is ready when you are."

"Thanks, give us ten minutes to get ourselves sorted," I looked over at Kotomi, Negisa still had her undivided attention, and she was currently playing peek a boo. "Make that twenty."

By the time we actually made it as far as the dinner table Kotomi was looking a little sheepish.

"I am sorry, Kyou-chan. I do not understand quite why I was sorry worried. Logically I know you would never let anything happen to Negisa, but… I will try to do better tomorrow."

"Kotomi, she's our baby, I don't really think logic comes in to it. We're always going to worry about her logical or not. You should see some of the mothers when they drop their children off for the first time. The mothers are more nervous than the children, and that's at a school full of trained teachers. We're just going to have to learn how to manage our worrying a little better."

"Yeah, you should have seen one of the mums at my school, she actually had to be asked to leave the classroom so we could start." Kyou chimed in, trying to give Kotomi a little encouragement.

"Perhaps you are right, I had expected to be apprehensive, but I was not prepared for how intense it would be."

"You'll get used to it soon enough, and until you do, I don't mind you calling to check on her, so if it gets too stressful just pick up the phone, okay."

It was a couple of weeks before Kotomi really adjusted to having to leave Negisa behind, even after that she still rang Kyou every lunch time.

By the time she was five months old Negisa was beginning to show signs of trying to crawl, it looked a lot like she was doing push ups, to be honest Kyou and I found it quite funny.

All in all, Negisa was a very happy baby, she smiled lots and laughed at the simplest things, she hadn't quite mastered sitting up yet so she would often roll over backwards when she laughed a lot. I also caught Kotomi trying to teach her to say Mommy or Daddy, it's a bit optimistic really considering she was only about six months old, but Kotomi insisted that she was a very intelligent baby. Quite how she'd come to this determination was anyone's guess really, but you never know.

Once Negisa did master crawling, Kyou's work load increased tenfold.

"I used to be able to look away and get things done, but now… I look away for five seconds and she's off."

"Yeah, there's no stopping her now, she does have quite the adventurous streak doesn't she."

"How she got so fast is what I'd like to know."

"Well Tomoya is quite athletic, perhaps she has inherited it from him."

"Figures he'd be to blame for it."

"Just imagine what it'll be like when she starts walking."

"I think we're going to need more baby gates."

A few weeks later Negisa began trying to pull herself up on to her feet against more or less anything that she could get a grip on, trouser legs were especially popular for this, and it was only another week before she managed to stand up, not for very long mind you. Kotomi took this as further evidence that Nagisa was "Significantly above average" and resumed trying to get her to speak.

"It's actually got her to stay in one place more now she's started to stand up, it looks like she would rather practice standing up than go off and find trouble."

"You realise it's the calm before the storm, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"After standing comes… walking." Kyou's face fell.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead, thanks a bunch."

"It's not all bad, she can understand 'no' and 'stay there' now can't she."

"Oh yes she can _understand_ what she's be told, but you're the only one she actually _does it_ for."

"That's not true, she listens to Kotomi… most of the time."

"Not even one year old and already a daddy's girl."

"Kotomi does keep saying Negisa is advanced for her age."

"She does, but I think that's more the mother in her saying that than anything scientific."

"I'd have to agree, but it does give me the warm fuzzies to see how happy she is when she's doing anything with Negisa."

"Kotomi never has been one to hide her affections, has she." Kyou gave me wry smile, obviously referring to the amount of time she spends attached to me.

"You're not wrong." I chuckled as I remembered all the times, she made everyone in the room blush, when she 'greeted' me. At that point Kotomi walked in to the room with Negisa in her arms.

"Tomoya, I was about to give Negisa her bath, but I thought you would enjoy doing it yourself."

"That would be great thanks Kotomi. Kyou I'll see you on Wednesday."

"Yeah, see you then."

It was actually about another six weeks before Negisa started to walk, first cruising along the sides of the furniture, griping on for balance, but after that she progressed to walking unaided fairly quickly. Luckily, she wasn't that fast to begin with, and she'd maybe manage ten feet, before plopping down on to her bum, where ever she happened to be, I nearly tripped over her on more than one occasion. We were all very grateful for the baby gates we had put up once she started to speed up.

Kotomi was taking endless photos and videos of Negisa's progress, all of these were sent on to my Dad, he was extremely grateful for them and said he was filling his photo albums up really quickly, the level of affection he showed for Negisa was a little bit surprising to begin with, but I figured he saw it as a second chance at parenting or something like that.

About five weeks before Negisa's first birthday Kotomi came in to the kitchen holding her phone and looking really excited.

"Tomoya, Nagisa has just said Dada!" I was a little sceptical, this wasn't the first time she'd made such a claim, but nobody else ever heard anything that sounded like a word.

"I am certain, listen." Kotomi handed me her phone and pressed play on the video clip. What followed was a lot of Kotomi trying to coax Negisa into saying 'Dada' or 'Daddy' to my surprise Negisa did make a sound that somewhat resembled a word, but still wasn't really sure.

"It could be I guess." Kotomi pouted at my lack of enthusiasm. "Oh, come on don't look at me like that, I'd love it if she was speaking, but you know as well as I do, for something to stand up to scientific rigor, it must be repeatable." I figured appealing to her scientific side would work better than trying to convince the mother in her she could be wrong.

"You are right of course." Kotomi look a little disappointed at being dissuaded from her excitement.

"Alright then, let's see if we can get her to repeat it then." Kotomi brightened up, then grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the nursery.

"Come on Negisa-chan, say Dada… say Dada." Negisa did make some sort of sound at Kotomi's urging, but it was definitely not 'Dada' Kotomi tried a few more times to much the same result. "You should try, she may be more cooperative for you."

"I don't know if cooperative is quite the word I'd use, I don't think she's doing it deliberately. But I'll give it a go. "Negisa, say Dada… Dada." She did make a sound that could have been called a 'D' sound but not quite there. "Say Dada, come on sweetheart say Dada,"

Kotomi gave it a few more tries but didn't get much better replies.

"Oh well, never mind angel, she's getting better at making the sounds, it won't be too much longer." I decided that we weren't going to get any further today and stood up to go back to what I was doing before Kotomi came to me. At this, Negisa raised her arms up toward me, usually meaning she wanted to be picked up.

"Dada~…" The end of it was a little bit garbled but it was pretty clear what she was saying.

"Huh?" It was so sudden and unexpected I didn't immediately register what she had said.

"Dada." It was clear as day.

"She said it, Tomoya, she said it, Well done Negisa-chan." I was a little bit choked up at the fact that I had heard her first words, and that it was 'Dada' that she said first.

"Were you still recording?" I managed to say with a bit of a croak in my voice.

"Yes, yes I was, we shall have to make some copies and keep it safe."

"And send a copy to Dad too, we'll have to get her to say 'Mommy' next won't we."

"That would be wonderful, Negisa-chan, say Mommy… say Mommy." Kotomi was exaggerating the mouth movements, to try and show Negisa how to do it, Negisa's reply was.

"Dada." If I didn't know better, I'd say she did it deliberately for comedic effect. Not that Kotomi cared either way, her little girl was talking and that's all that mattered.

It was maybe two weeks later that Negisa did manage to say 'Mommy' Bringing a tear to Kotomi's eye.

A few days before Negisa's first birthday, Kotomi came into the kitchen, while I was making breakfast, looking a little green.

"Good morning, Angel. Hey, are you okay? You don't look too well."

"Tomoya, you may want to sit down."


	8. Chapter 8 – Family2

**Chapter 8 – Family****2**

"Why would I need to sit down?"

"I was feeling quite ill in the morning yesterday too."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? Do you want to go back to bed of a while?"

"No, thank you Tomoya, I have just made a doctors appointment for tomorrow after work."

"Do you feel that bad? If you're that ill you… should… Oh." My brain finally made the connection. "So you think that you're… "

"Pregnant, yes."

"I'll nip to the chemist, I'll be right back." By the time I returned Kyou had arrived for work.

"Oh, hey Tomoya, you were out early today."

"Yeah, I needed to pick up a couple of things for Kotomi."

"Oooh, anything fun?" Kyou opened the bag I had put on the counter. "Ginger tea? And a…" She stared at the second item in the bag for a moment. "Pregnancy test?"

"Kotomi has been feeling sick the last couple of mornings."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and do that test, I'll put the kettle on." Kyou looked really excited as she handed the test to Kotomi and gently pushed her towards the bathroom. "I can't believe I get to be here for this, it's so exciting." Kyou was grinning from ear to ear. She was like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

Once Kotomi returned with the test, our vigil began. It must have look quite absurd, three people staring at a small plastic stick that someone had just peed on.

"Haven't you invented a faster one of these yet?"

"I am sorry Tomoya, but bio-chemistry isn't really my specialty."

"How long are these things supposed to take anyway?"

"Five minutes I think, but it felt like hours last time."

"It must have been five minutes by now."

"It has been three minutes, you are even more excitable than Tomoya was last time." As calm as Kotomi sounded, her fingers were drumming impatiently on the side of her tea cup.

"Look, look it's doing something… two blue bars? Is that good? Where's the box?"

"Kyou, settle down will you. It means it's positive. We're having another baby." Kotomi grinned at me, then threw her arms round my neck and kissed me.

"Congratulation you guys." Kyou joined in on the hug.

"Thanks, Kyou. One question, why are you so excited? You were more impatient than I was."

"What, aren't I allowed to be happy for my two best friends?" I just looked at her and raised an eye brow. "Fine, I just love babies, Negisa was sooo cute."

"Get your own then."

"I'd need a husband first, and anyway, when they're someone else's you can give them back when they stink." I had to admit you couldn't argue with her logic. "Wait till Ryou hears, she's going to flip."

"Whoa there, hold your horses."

"What?"

"First off, I'd rather wait until after the doctor confirms it, and secondly, do you not think that maybe, and I could be being a little strange here, but just maybe, we might like to tell people ourselves."

"Right, yeah, sorry, I got a little over excited."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Kyou just stuck her tongue out at me and put her phone back in her pocket. "Kotomi, do you want to take the day off work? If you're not well, I'm sure they'd understand."

"No, thank you, I'll manage."

"In that case, we'd best get a move on. Kyou can you finish up Negisa's breakfast please."

"No problem, I'll sort little Onee-chan here, see you tonight."

The following morning, I was woken up by Kotomi making a run for the bathroom.

"Yep, that'll just about confirm it."

"I hate this part."

"I know angel, and I hated to see you go through it last time, but it's not for too long. You just take your time and get your breath back, I'll go and make you some tea." She nodded before flopping back on to the bed.

The blood test at the doctors was just a formality really, but it didn't stop me getting butterflies in my stomach as we waited for the results. When we got home, we were greeted by a manically smiling Ryou.

"You told her didn't you."

"I didn't, she worked it out herself, I swear." Kyou was adamant she hadn't said anything to Ryou about it.

"Honestly, Kyou didn't tell me. I just figured, why else would both of you go to the doctors."

"makes sense, I guess. Well either way it's official now, Negisa is going to have a little brother or sister." Ryou sprang to her feet and hugged Kotomi and me.

"Congratulations Kotomi-chan, Tomoya-kun."

We decided that it would be easiest to wait until Negisa's birthday party to make any kind of announcement, practically everyone we know would be there, aside from a few co-workers.

My Dad and my grandmother were staying with us for a couple of days, so they could be here for Negisa's party. Kotomi, Kyou and I had been trying to teach Negisa to say 'Oji-san' as a surprise for my Dad, we had got as far as 'Oji' which we decided was good enough, she is only one year old so just that was pretty good going, but I wasn't quite convinced she understood that we talking about the person the picture was of and not the picture itself.

When they got here Negisa followed me to the door, it's usually Kyou or Ryou that come to the door, so she was probably expecting it to be one of her aunties, the instant she saw it wasn't who she was expecting she hid behind my leg, clinging on to my trousers.

When he saw that Negisa was hiding my Dad crouched down to speak to her at her level.

"Hello Negisa-chan, do you remember me?" Her interest was piqued enough for her to poke her head out from behind my leg, she stared at him for a few seconds, then she looked up at me, I tried mouthing Oji-san, to try and prompt her to say what we'd been practicing. All the time we'd spent did pay off as she looked back at my Dad.

"Oji." The last time he saw her in person she wasn't talking much, so he was surprised, but very happy, with a little more persuading we managed to get her to go to him and let him pick her up.

With her in his arms he turned to my grandmother.

"Do you remember Hī-obāsan?" Negisa didn't seem to remember hr very well, not surprising given she's only been around her for one week, a few months ago. When obāsan got closer to her to take her off my Dad, she turned away and stretched her arms out towards me.

"Dada." Roughly translated meaning, that stranger is making me nervous and I want to hide behind my Dad. Negisa's cunning plan to escape her great-grandmother back fired, as I took her over to meet her anyway. Negisa countered this by attempting to hide by pressing her face in to my shoulder.

"Come on Negisa-chan, say hello to Baa-baa." Hī-obāsan is a bit too ambitious for a one year old so obāsan had decided that she'd go by Baa-baa, to make it easier for Negisa. The child in question was stubbornly refusing to talk to obāsan, she had met her, but she was only a couple of months old, so she really wasn't going to remember.

Negisa could be quite shy when it came to meeting new people, Kotomi had been much the same way as a child, and to some extent she still is, (unless she's showing off her daughter).

She does however have a major weakness, she is really, really ticklish and once you've got her laughing, she forgets to be shy, so once her Baa-baa had started to tickle her, she was happy enough to be held by her, and within and hour was slowly depositing the contents of her toy box on to obāsan's lap, it was something of a habit of hers, she seemed to want any visitors to have at least one toy, so if we had more than one guest, they would all take turns at being given a toy. Unfortunately, Negisa would occasionally decide that this was far too much fun to just stop at one toy and would keep going until she either got bored or she ran out of toys to give out.

It could be coincidence, but each time my Dad came to visit, he was always given the fuzzy dinosaur that he used when he played with her before he moved.

Kotomi had planned Negisa's birthday party in meticulous detail, Negisa of course was oblivious to the approaching event, let's be honest, she one year old, dates don't mean a whole lot, and she has absolutely no concept of what a birthday is or what happens on a birthday. That said, I think the party was more for Kotomi than it was Negisa, she truly loves to show off her daughter.

Negisa's reaction to her party was priceless, and in hind sight, quite predictable.

I led Negisa by the hand towards the dinning room where Kotomi had everything set up, there were balloons and banners everywhere, and a large colourful cake, made by our local master baker Kyou, all of our friends, Dad and obāsan.

When Negisa saw all of this she stopped stock still for a moment, and then released my hand and ran in the opposite direction, much to the amusement of everyone except Kotomi.

I did eventually get her to come and join in, but she flat out refused to let me put her down and she held on to my shirt with at least one hand at all times. Given how shy Negisa is in general, I half expected her to react a bit like this, not quite to the extent that she did, she wouldn't even let Kotomi or Kyou hold her, it had to be dada.

Kotomi wasn't too disappointed, everyone had fun, and like I said, it was more about mom showing off her daughter.

Kotomi's first trimester was characterized by Vomiting, heartburn and mood swings, mainly just crying for no particular reason. The second trimester didn't go as smoothly unfortunately, the first thing that burst our bubble was a problem with Kotomi's blood sugar, the doctor called it "gestational diabetes" apparently it's relatively common and not something to worry too much about, Kotomi just had to check her blood sugar a couple of times a day and make sure to eat regularly.

The second however was not so small, we heard from Kotomi's godfather, that his brother and our favourite teacher Komura Toshio, had passed away. The school held a memorial service for the much beloved teacher, it was astonishingly well attended, to the point where the venue had to be changed from the assembly hall to the sports field. It looked as though, every student he ever helped to get through school had turned out with their whole family to say goodbye to the man that we all respected. It struck me that the blessed life that I now lead would never have happened if Komura-sensei hadn't taken the time to drag me through the first two years of school. A lesser man would have written me off as a lost cause, but he never once gave up on a student. I had hoped that Sunohara would turn up, but if he did, he had avoided us. We added Toshio to the list of potential names for our second child.

Negisa seemed to be growing really fast, her speech was improving in leaps and bounds, she was still very shy when I came to strangers but, hopefully she'd grow out of it in the end. Negisa was now more than capable of telling us what she wanted, she was still very much a daddies girl, much to Kyou's frustration, if she told Negisa to do anything she didn't want to do, she would always look at me first, as if she was asking if she really had to do it.

With three weeks to go, before the due date Kotomi started having Braxton, Hicks contractions again, I wouldn't mind so much if it was just during the day, but it always seemed to be the middle of the night, I mean seriously wasn't the sleep deprivation of having a new born wasn't going to be bad enough, but this child had to get an early start on it.

Kotomi wanted to go with a home birth again, given how well it worked with Negisa, I didn't have any reason to disagree, we had got the same midwife to help us again. Although Kotomi did want to change the area she had set aside for the birth, getting up and down from the floor was a bit awkward last time, and Kotomi wanted to pace around a lot when she had Negisa so we decided that one of the spare bedrooms with a double bed would work well. We were a bit more relaxed about it all this time around thankfully.

Generally, Kotomi was calm, very tired a lot of the time, but calm. At least until she hit nesting mode, at which point she started cleaning anything that didn't move. We had very much reached the point that the whole pregnancy thing was getting a bit old, and both of us were ready for it to be over with.

Kyou decided she would move in for a while, so that she could be there when Kotomi went in to labour and look after Negisa while we were occupied, it was a nice thought, but I did find it amusing that she just told us that it was happening.

It was two in the morning when I was woken by Kotomi groaning.

"Braxton, Hicks again?"

"I am not sure, it feels different."

"Well we'll find out soon enough, can I get you anything?"

"Yes, a glass of water would be good, thank you."

"Alright, I'll be right back."

After another twenty minutes she was still having contractions, so we were pretty sure it was the main event.

"I'll give the midwife a call, did you want to move through to the spare room yet?"

"I believe I will move through to the spare room. Do you wish to tell Kyou-chan yet?"

"No, I'll let her get some more sleep, nothing much is going to happen for an hour or two anyway."

"You are much calmer than last time."

"Well it was the first time then, it's not quite so scary this time around. Yagi-san will be here in half an hour."

The arrival of Yagi-san the midwife was enough to get Kyou out of bed, although I'm not sure I'd say she was really awake just yet and the degree of bed head was hilarious.

"Not much of a morning person are you Kyou?"

"Shut up, it isn't morning yet."

"You can go back to bed if you like Kyou, Negisa won't be awake for a couple of hours."

"No, I'm awake now anyway."

"I'm not sure I'd agree there." Kyou just glared at me.

"Besides, all the movement could wake her up."

"I'll give you that much, but maybe I should make the coffee."

"Why?"

"Kyou, that's the blender, not the coffee machine." Kyou gave me a puzzled for a moment.

"Oh, yeah… how did I manage that?"

"Honestly I'm amazed you made it downstairs." That one earned me a punch in the arm.

"How's Kotomi doing?"

"She's okay considering, she's in the spare room if you want to see her, before she gets too far into the labour."

"Yeah, thanks, but maybe I should get dressed first."

"You'll probably want to do something with your hair too, it kind of looks like an exploded hay bale." The phrase 'if looks could kill' sprang to mind for some reason. "How are we doing in here then?"

"Did Kyou-chan wake up?"

"I don't know I'd go that far, but she's out of bed anyway, she said she'd poke her head in shortly. Yagi-san, would you like some coffee?"

"That would be really nice, thank you Tomoya-san, I had an early morning call yesterday as well."

"I'll make it a large coffee then, do you need anything Kotomi?"

"No, I am fine for now, thank you Tomoya."

It was another half an hour before we officially entered active labour and Kotomi could start to push, at that point I stayed by Kotomi's side, so Kyou was on fetch and carry duty. Twenty minutes after that Ryou arrived with the largest and most comprehensive first aid kit I have ever seen.

The labour was progressing faster than last time, but we'd had been told that it probably would already, I was just glad I wouldn't have to see Kotomi go through it for as long as with Negisa.

Forty-five minutes and one mildly crushed hand later and the head was out so we were almost done. I had hoped it would be quicker, but it was twenty more minutes before Kotomi got to meet our second daughter. I got my first hold while Kotomi was being sorted out, and took her to meet aunty Ryou and auntie Kyou, but they would have to wait to hold her until later, I wasn't going to cut short my first moments with her for anyone other than Kotomi, it still felt like it had been too short when I gave her back to Kotomi so she could have her first feeding.

This time around we hadn't managed to quite decide on a name, if we'd had a boy then we had settled on Toshio, but we had a girl and no decision on the name.

"What do you think Kotomi, is she a Mizue or is she an Atsuko? She's definitely got your hair."

"Yes, she does, doesn't she." Kotomi gazed down at her daughter adoringly.

"That would make her a Mizue, wouldn't it?"

"Are you sure?"

"We can use my moms name if we have another one."

"If you are certain, then Okazaki Mizue it is."

"Hello Mizue-chan, pleased to meet you." Kotomi giggled, but never looked away from our new baby. "Two girls huh, well that'll mean even more boys to chase away." We were interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. "Looks like the twins, can't wait any longer, shall I let them in or chase them off?"

"Let them in please, I know how excited Kyou has been."

"Alright, you two, come on in." Two heads popped in through the door.

"Are you sure? I mean if…"

"Come on get in before I change my mind." Kyou was in like a shot followed by Ryou rolling her eyes.

"She's beautiful, have you decided on a name yet?"

"She's Mizue. She's got Kotomi's hair, so it seemed to fit." We kept the first visit short, Kotomi was understandably exhausted so we gave her some time to sleep.

The day was very much the same as when we had Negisa, the Furukawas were the first to arrive, but even they waited until ten o'clock, Sanae-san had brought us some bread, but Akio assured us it was safe to eat. Kotomi was already awake, Mizue was asleep but then sleep is a new born baby's main pastime, Negisa had woken up some time ago, and was currently hiding behind my leg, she knew everyone, but she was a bit nervous because of all the excitement.

My Dad called on the phone and promised to visit soon but wanted me to send photos as soon as possible. Some of my co-workers turned up with arms full of stuffed animals and flowers. Kotomi's colleagues' gifts were a little more practical, but not by much.

Kyou was just as eager to hold Mizue as she was Negisa when she was born, Ryou was more enthusiastic about taking her turn than she was last time, but she had to go to work in the afternoon, so she grudgingly passed Mizue back to Kotomi.

Kotomi and I were very glad to have Kyou around as much as she was, Negisa had been sleeping in a five-hour chunk at night within a month, Mizue was less cooperative preferring to stick to sleeping for no longer than three hours at a time.

It was exhausting, even though I couldn't feed Mizue, being rather under equipped, I did still try and take my turn doing the changing, and when a baby starts crying _everybody_ knows about it.

My paternity leave was over far too quickly, I really didn't want to go back to work just yet. However, it did cheer me up when I saw Kotomi was waiting for me at the gate again, taking the opportunity to show off her girls to the other moms at the school.

Mizue didn't start sleeping much at night for another month, it was the most exhausting two months of my life, but it soon eased off once Mizue worked out what nights were for.

Kyou's job got a little easier, as Negisa seemed to find her little sister fascinating, and she'd stand and watch her ten or twenty minutes. The cutest thing to come out of that was when Mizue started crying while Negisa was watching her, so Negisa started to deposit cuddly toys in to Mizue's crib, Kyou managed to get a video of her doing it, on her phone.

Mizue's early months didn't differ much from Negisa's, although I think we were less prone to panicking when she was ill, not that either of them was ill very often. But when your first-born baby gets a temperature, it's scary quite frankly, but the second go around it's less of a big deal.

From the moment she could crawl, Mizue and Negisa were inseparable, and always up to something. On more than one occasion I'd find them out in the back garden playing together, only to think 'where did they get that from?' Most notably a large wooden starfish, that I don't remember owning.

In the following years, their bond remained strong, temperamentally the both took after Kotomi to some degree, quiet for the most part, but the were quite mischievous when they were together.

From time to time I would think about Komura-sensei and what he saw me doing as a teacher, and I would always wonder if I should move on from kindergarten to a middle school or secondary school, but when it came down to it, at this point in my life, I simply couldn't be and happier, I have a loving wife, two wonderful girls who adore me and a job I truly love.

So, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, as I watched Mizue and Negisa playing on the lawn and Kotomi sitting reading an old battered book at the table and chairs I repainted all those years ago, I had to think to myself.

"We really did get our happy ever after."

The End (For now at least.)


End file.
